By David W. Boitnott

Recently while helping counter-stamp some old dateless Buffalo nickels for the Raleigh Coin Club I was quite struck (pun intended) by how much wear these coins exhibited. But what really brought it into focus was after counter-stamping 250 for the Raleigh Coin Club we counter-stamped 40 Buffalo and 40 Jefferson nickels for the Triangle Coin Club. When we finished and re-rolled the coins the Buffalo roll appeared at least 3 coins short when compared to the Jefferson roll.

A quick recount confirmed that both rolls contained 40 coins. But now my interest was heightened. The next day at work, I took both rolls to Vince's shop were he confirmed that I could count to 40 and we placed the two stacks on a level surface and measured their height with a digital micrometer. The 40 Jefferson nickels measured 2.9775 inches high compared to 2.6765 inches high for the tired old Buffaloes. This equated to a difference of three tenths of an inch or about 10.1percent. This seemed like tremendous loss of metal for these coins so we decided we should compare their weights. Unfortunately Vince's scales were in the calibration shop being calibrated.

We didn't let that deter us. Since we had to deliver them to Daryl's Coins in Durham so they could be distributed to TCC members we used his scales. Daryl was also amazed by the difference in the roll lengths and again my count was reconfirmed. On to the weigh in! In one corner the Jeffersons weighed in at 199.3 grams (6.4 ounces) and in the other the Buffaloes weighed in at 190.4 grams (6.1 ounces). This proved to be a more accurate method to calculate the loss of metal and it equated to about a 5 percent loss.

This experiment led to a general discussion of the difference in the value of small change in the past 30 years compared to the 30 odd years the Buffaloes were produced and circulated. Today the nickel is only marginally better respected than the lowly cent. Respect for our small change has diminished greatly. Today many people will not expend the energy to bend over and pick up a coin. Some will even bypass a quarter. Still more people just empty their pockets of all the loose change they have accumulated during the day and dump it in container of one sort or another. They will occasionally roll it up and take it to the bank, a savings plan of sorts. But our change today just doesn't circulate like it once did.

Whereas, during the Buffalo's reign as the current design, a nickel was a considerable amount of money. I can remember my father telling of how his father worked for as little as ten cent an hour or maybe it was a day during the Depression. At that rate one took care of their small change. A nickel had purchasing power! One did not hoard them like they do today. They truly circulated as evidenced by the large numbers of about good old Liberty and Buffalo nickel we as coin collectors see today. I imagine a set of AG Jefferson nickels would be quite difficult to put together, even the early years. So these tired old Buffaloes served the people of their time well and fortunately were not made of precious metal because a 5 percent loss would have been a substantial set back in those economic times. Just think of all the handling, all the transactions, all miles traveled, all the history, and all the people these tired old Buffaloes have seen.

The counter-stamped Buffaloes have now all been distributed to members and hopefully spent for National Coin Week. Perhaps we will have a few make it back to the club after some lucky recipient finds the coin and having read the press release in the newspaper brings to a meeting or our show to claim their prize. Perhaps some will end up in someone's collection and years from now with the added history of the RCC counter-stamp collectors will ponder the when and why they were created. After this trip through circulation these tired old Buffaloes will, hopefully, finally reach their "End of the Trail". Think about it.