Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Two Views of Buffalo Nickle. Find and photo by DJ. |
I received the above photos and following message from DJ.
Found this Buffalo Nickel last year during a period of erosion along with other modern coins that were in the water for a long time. This was before the g reat “sanding in” of Treasure Coast beaches occurred.
Recently, looking at some things I kept for later, I thought I might find a date or date range on this BN. I could vaguely see the outline of the head side after wetting it and turning it around. It was my first found BN. (As a kid these were so common no one collected them).
A little research told me the date range (1913-1938), where the date stamp was, and whether this was a four legged buffalo or a five legged buffalo. I could not see enough detail on that and found an acidic solution called “Nic-A-Date” to temporarily bring a date and it only worked on nickels.
You can see in the last close up what I believe is the date 1917!
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| Nic-A-Date Showing Date On Badly Corroded Buffalo Nickle. Photo by DJ. |
Of course that doesn’t mean it was lost in 1917 but still a great discovery for me while waiting for conditions to improve.
DJ followed up with the following message.
As usual, forgot a couple things I wanted to mention. One is this link. https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_and_Websites_(Inorganic_Chemistry)/Chemical_Reactions/Chemical_Reactions_Examples/Revealing_the_Dates_of_Buffalo_Nickels_(Demo)
The date was usually the first thing to disappear as a Buffalo nickel wore down in people's pockets, purses and being handled in transactions.” Which may have led to the nickel being pulled from use.
In fact, even expert ivory appraisers are often hazy on the law. This is through no fault of their own: The legal regime that regulates the trade in ivory is notoriously complex, arising from the intersection of federal statutory law, executive-branch orders, and the guidelines imposed by international conservation treaties...
Another is this interesting quote from the above link.
Thanks DJ.
I've never used Nic-A-Date myself, but it is good to know about. I know others that have used it. Interesting how it works.
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I also received from DJ a link to a site showing a silver and bone higa that looks very much like the silver and ivory one I showed a few days ago. Most higas look similar (of course), and there are hundreds of modern ones listed for sale online. The one I found using DJ's link looks very much like the one I dug and the one in the Fisher artifact database (I sure wish it was still active.), but there are two differences. One difference, which is not very important, is that the one for sale online has the thumb in a different position than the one I recently showed and the one in the Fisher database. That is not an indication of age anyhow. The other difference is a more important feature, That is the material used.
The item being sold online is described as being made of bone, as are some of the Spanish colonial archaeological examples, including one in the Florida museum, but the one in the Fisher database, and the one I showed a few day ago, are made of ivory.
There are laws on the use of ivory. The Antiques Roadshow website says....
Here is a link for more information about the ivory laws. Overview of Current Ivory Law | Antiques Roadshow | PBS
Considering the laws that discourage import and commercial use of ivory, it seems to me that it is unlikely (although certainly possible even if illegal) that modern items made for sale would be made of ivory, To me, that is one of the stronger pieces of evidence suggesting the older age of both the Fisher higa and the one I recently presented.
I concluded my previous discussion of the ivory higa as follows: At this point, I think it is Spanish colonial based upon it being found on a treasure beach near a Spanish Colonial shipwreck, and being exactly like the one example in the Fisher database. After further consideration, the fact that the higa is made of ivory, provides, in my opinion, the strongest (although not conclusive) evidence of the age of the item. I doubt that many modern makers would go to the expense of finding legal ivory or risk using illegal ivory.
Being trained in a scientific field, I almost always think, and usually talk, in terms of confidence levels and probabilities and seldom of absolutes. There are times, mostly for the sake of brevity, that I'll simplify my discussion, but when my time, and the tolerance of my audience permits, I'll give a lot of qualifiers, including a lot of ifs, ands, and buts. I try to reach a balance between being brief and still precise, accurate and thorough. One way I try to do that is by providing links for additional reading or research.
Here is an interesting quote.
“Always, the eye sees more than the mind can comprehend, and we go through life self-blinded to much that lies before us. We want a simple world, but we live in a magnificently complex one, and rather than open ourselves to it, we perceive the world through filters that make it less daunting.” ― Dean Koontz, Relentless
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There is no significant activity on the National Hurricane Center map. The tides are now big though. But the surf is small - only one or two feet.
Good hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net