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Lot 0705 1918/7-D Buffalo 5C PCGS AU55

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:7,500.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
Lot 0705 1918/7-D Buffalo 5C PCGS AU55
Collectors of this series well know that the 1918/7-D is the most eagerly sought variety in the buffalo nickel herd of dates. Research has come to the conclusion that this overdate was created in the Engraving Department at the Philadelphia Mint sometime in late 1917. At the time, the Mint was making dies for both 1917 and 1918-dated nickel production. Since a working die takes two or more impressions from a working hub before it is ready for use in the coining press, it is understandable how this overdate was created. One of the working obverse dies that had already received an impression from a 1917-dated working hub, then received a second, but from one dated 1918. Whether this was done accidentally or intentionally is not known, but we do know that this obverse was shipped to the Denver Mint and used to deliver a small portion of the 8.3 million-coin delivery recorded there in 1918.

The 1918/7-D is rare in all grades, with a choice About Uncirculated 55 example of this coin's caliber and originality the most prevalent range requested among collectors. The number of Mint State coins extant is a matter of conjecture, high prices often preclude even the more eager collectors from obtaining one in this condition. This handsome coin represents the finest in technical quality that one will probably ever have the opportunity to acquire for an AU55 overdate nickel. Both sides are as we said original in appearance with light-gray toning that yields to pale golden shadings around the devices. The strike is pleasingly sharp in most areas, with neither side revealing any outwardly distracting carbon flecks or abrasions other than a small line across the Indian's features. Lustrous and attractive, this coin is destined to create a nice stir among bidders when the time comes to establish a price for it.