Hello all,

First time post.

Well I am a Numismatist or coin collector/dealer.

 

The problem: Buffalo Nickels.

 

The date on the coin was one of the highest points on the coin, often resulting in the date to be worn off.

 

If I understand the whole minting process correctly, the area around the date is softer, since when the coin was struck, the metal from the "field" gets pushed up in to the design/date.

 

There is an acid that is sold, that when you put one drop on, it draws the date out.

 

The problem is you will go through 100 coins before finding a good one.

 

Well is there any machine out there that will allow you to see the different densities in detail, to see what the date is? Any sort of imaging device? Density scanner?

I really don't know what is out there, or if it would even work on metal.

 

Any help or suggestions would be great!

 

Thank you!

TCL what form of buffalo nickel is it you are looking for ie what is the one in a hundred? If it is only the date that is different then I cannot see a better way that the acid highlighting - there are almost certainly scans that will also allow to read the date - but they will be just as costly and also require you to have the hundred coins to look for the one special one; I presume you are seeking a method that is portable and non-damaging that can be used at coin fairs and shops. You could try polarized light and viewer - that can sometimes be used to see moving stresses in solid blocks of metal.

Why don't you try heating the coin up or cooling the coin down then look at it with infra red camera. Surely the denser part of the coin will be a different temperature than the less dense part. Some cam corders have infra red settings. I'm just throwing out an idea of course. I'm not sure at all if it will work. You may need to magnify in some way to get enough detail to make out the picture. And I would be carefull when getting soft metals too hot.