A "blast white" lustrous Gem, not quite as "blue" looking in color as my images show (such is the nature of artificial light). This has the second lowest mintage of any Buffalo Nickel, so has long been a favorite of promoters.  The low mintage is the result of an accident. The San Francisco Mint stopped production of Nickel coinage early in 1931, likely due to a lack of local demand during the Depression. The original number minted early in the year was perhaps 200,000, which would have made this date an instant Key - and led to endless headaches for the Treasury Department, or so though the Treasury Secretary. He envisioned a legion of collectors hounding the Department for examples of the date, as it was still practice then to sell individual examples of U. S. coinage to the public upon demand. Realizing the potential for official disaster, he ordered San Francisco to strike as many Nickels as they could in December, 1931. They managed a Million, making the date a low mintage, but not a rarity.

PCGS 3971.66/34997759