Did you hear about the time I bought 100 sets of Buffalo Nickels? It's true!

It happened in 1973. America was preparing to abandon the gold standard and the price of gold was on the move. The economy was strong, the coin business active, and the oil crisis just beginning .

An old-time dealer/hoarder found himself in financial crisis, forced to liquidate his substantial holdings of Buffalo Nickels. I was senior buyer for the largest mail-order coin business in the world, and it was my task to buy and market these sets of nickels. How I would relish finding such a hoard of nice Buffalos today!

As many of you know, there is an extreme shortage of Buffalos in grades VF to Gem MS-66. Finding nice Buffalo Nickel inventory has been challenging for some time, and it is especially noticeable in the rare date issues.

In the not-too-distant future, I hope to do an expanded study on Buffalo Nickels. For now, I present some basic information to help the collector approach the series.

There are at least three ways to collect Buffalo Nickels. The most popular include:

• The single specimen.  Here I recommend a common date in the highest grade to fit the collector's budget. For a single specimen in the Buffalo series, the 1913 Type 1 is a good choice. James Earle Fraser's first design presented the bison standing on a mound. Minted for a brief time between February and April 1913, a design problem was soon discovered --the mound, containing the words "Five Cents" wore away almost immediately once coins began to circulate. The coin was redesigned with the buffalo on a platform, the words "Five Cents" slightly recessed; this style was used throughout the remainder of the series.
• The date set.  Consider a set in MS-64 or MS-65, comprising a single coin from each date, thereby eliminating the rarities.
• The date and mint set.  Here I recommend a set in MS-63 to MS-65. There will be some challenges, so I note the most important criteria.

Strike is the most important aspect of the Buffalo series, because poor strikes are the norm for many issues. Issues where good strike is hard to find include: 1913-S Ty.2, 1916-D, 1917-D, 1917-S, 1918-D, 1918-S, 1919-D, 1919-S, 1920-D, 1920-S, 1921-S, 1923-S, 1924-D, 1924-S, 1925-D, 1925-S, 1926-D, 1926-S, 1928-D, 1929-D. Familiarize yourself with the normal strike for these issues; your goal is to acquire a piece with better-than-average strike.

Lustre presence or absence will help you weed through examples called MS-63 and MS-64 which are truly AU coins. In other words, if you see a dead-looking coin, leave it alone. Lustre may have been destroyed by harsh cleaning or environmental damage.

Color.  Buffalo Nickels can come with very attractive coloration; pretty toning is highly desirable and often commands a premium.

Considering a Buffalo Nickel set? Savvy collectors enlist the help of an expert to find and match coins, saving a great deal of time and headache, creating an attractive and desirable finished product.