1931-S Buffalo Nickel (5c)

Silky, satiny luster rolls evenly across both sides, showing off superbly original nickel-silver color with a faint champagne cast. The strike is unusually bold for the mint - strong braid definition and a crisp, full horn - with sharply rendered legends and rim detail. Fields are wonderfully clean for the grade, with only a few trivial ticks keeping it from the next step of 67. The frosty texture and balanced surfaces give this example excellent eye appeal, and the PCGS plus-grade feels exactly right in the current Gold Shield holder.