1925-S Buffalo Nickel. MS-65 (PCGS).

Intense satin to softly frosted mint frost blends with iridescent golden-apricot toning on both sides of this exceptional 1925-S nickel. The striking detail is superior than usually seen for this challenging issue; both sides are boldly to sharply rendered without even a single area of trivial softness to report. The level of preservation is just as impressive, the surfaces offering a silky smooth appearance and strong eye appeal. One of the most poorly produced issues in this series, the 1925-S is typically encountered with extreme softness of detail in the center of the obverse, over the high points of the bison on the reverse, and/or in the mintmark area on that side. This problem results from two deficiencies in the striking process: wide distance between the dies in the press and the use of worn dies. On many mintmarked 1925 Buffalo nickels that your cataloger (JLA) has seen over the years, in fact, the mintmark is little more than a shapeless blob, making it impossible to attribute the coins as 1925-D or 1925-S. Due primarily to the poor quality of strike, this issue is notoriously difficult to locate in premium quality Gem Mint State, as here. This will be a significant find for the advanced collector specializing in this popular, yet challenging series.

PCGS# 3956. NGC ID: 22S4.