Buffalo Nickels
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United States Mint Five-Cent/Buffalo Nickel Specifications & Design |
Coin Denomination | $0.05 or five hundredths of a US dollar |
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| Metal Composition/make | 1909-1942: 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight per Nickel | 5.00 grams |
| Nickels per pound | 91 nickels per pound (90.7184 nickels exactly) |
| Design | Obverse/Front: Native American Indian face profile view Reverse/Back: Buffalo or American bison |
Why People Hoard/Buy Buffalo Nickels |
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Buffalo nickels are highly sought collectible coins. Why people buy buffalo nickels is because they are becoming increasing more rare and difficult to find.
In addition, the date is often worn off on buffalo nickels, so finding or buying buffalo nickels with their date still visible provides extra value to the five-cent coin. Circulated buffalo nickels still fetch a premium above their five-cent face value. Finding buffalo nickels in today’s coin circulation is possible, though becoming increasing rare and does not happen often. Many people equate the same type of value to the Buffalo nickel as the Indianhead penny. In fact, the Buffalo nickel is sometimes referred to as an Indianhead piece due to the imagery on the obverse or front of the coin. |
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Five-Cent/Buffalo Nickel Value |
Year | Mintage | Value Range | Current Market Value (multi-third-party pricing) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 Type 1 | 30,993,520 | $2 - $25+ | 1913 type 1 buffalo nickel |
| 1913 Type 2 | 29,858,700 | $5 - $25+ | 1913 type 2 buffalo nickel |
| 1913 D Type 1 | 5,337,000 | $5 - $50+ | 1913 d type 1 buffalo nickel |
| 1913 D Type 2 | 29,858,700 | $5 - $100+ | 1913 d type 2 buffalo nickel |
| 1913 S Type 1 | 2,105,000 | $10 - $100+ | 1913 s type 1 buffalo nickel |
| 1913 S Type 2 | 1,209,000 | $150 - $500+ | 1913 s type 2 buffalo nickel |
| 1914 | 20,665,738 | $10 - $40+ | 1914 buffalo nickel |
| 1914 D | 3,912,000 | $45 - $300+ | 1914 d buffalo nickel |
| 1914 S | 3,470,000 | $15 - $175+ | 1914 s buffalo nickel |
| 1915 | 20,987,270 | $5 - $40+ | 1915 buffalo nickel |
| 1915 D | 7,569,500 | $5 - $200+ | 1915 d buffalo nickel |
| 1915 S | 1,505,000 | $35 - $375+ | 1915 s buffalo nickel |
| 1916 | 63,498,066 | $1 - $30 | 1916 buffalo nickel |
| 1916 D | 13,333,000 | $10 - $150+ | 1916 d buffalo nickel |
| 1916 S | 11,860,000 | $10 - $150+ | 1916 s buffalo nickel |
| 1917 | 51,424,029 | $2 - $50+ | 1917 buffalo nickel |
| 1917 D | 9,910,800 | $15 - $350+ | 1917 d buffalo nickel |
| 1917 S | 4,193,000 | $20 - $350+ | 1917 s buffalo nickel |
| 1918 | 32,086,314 | $1 - $75+ | 1918 buffalo nickel |
| 1918 D | 8,362,314 | $10-$300+ | 1918 d buffalo nickel |
| 1918 S | 4,832,000 | $15- $525+ | 1918 s buffalo nickel |
| 1919 | 60,868,000 | $1 - $50+ | 1919 buffalo nickel |
| 1919 D | 8,006,000 | $10 - $500+ | 1919 d buffalo nickel |
| 1919 S | 7,521,000 | $5 - $500+ | 1919 s buffalo nickel |
| 1920 | 63,093,000 | $2 - $75+ | 1920 buffalo nickel |
| 1920 D | 9,418,000 | $5 - $475+ | 1920 d buffalo nickel |
| 1920 S | 9,689,000 | $5 - $375+ | 1920 s buffalo nickel |
| 1921 | 10,663,000 | $3 - $85+ | 1921 buffalo nickel |
| 1921 S | 1,557,000 | $55 - $1250+ | 1921 s buffalo nickel |
| 1923 | 35,715,000 | $1 - $10+ | 1923 buffalo nickel |
| 1923 S | 6,142,000 | $5 - $500+ | 1923 s buffalo nickel |
| 1924 | 21,620,000 | $1 - $50+ | 1924 buffalo nickel |
| 1924 D | 5,258,000 | $2 - $350+ | 1924 d buffalo nickel |
| 1924 S | 1,437,000 | $10 - $1550+ | 1924 s buffalo nickel |
| 1925 | 35,565,100 | $1 - $35+ | 1925 buffalo nickel |
| 1925 D | 4,450,000 | $5 - $300+ | 1925 d buffalo nickel |
| 1925 S | 6,256,000 | $5 - $300+ | 1925 s buffalo nickel |
| 1926 | 44,693,000 | $1 - $25+ | 1926 buffalo nickel |
| 1926 D | 5,638,000 | $10 - $250+ | 1926 d buffalo nickel |
| 1926 S | 970,000 | $50 - $4000+ | 1926 s buffalo nickel |
| 1927 | 37,981,000 | $2 - $25+ | 1927 buffalo nickel |
| 1927 D | 5,730,000 | $25 - $100+ | 1927 d buffalo nickel |
| 1927 S | 3,430,000 | $1 - $425+ | 1927 s buffalo nickel |
| 1928 | 23,411,000 | $1 - $20+ | 1928 buffalo nickel |
| 1928 D | 6,436,000 | $1 - $55+ | 1928 d buffalo nickel |
| 1928 S | 6,936,000 | $1 - $175+ | 1928 s buffalo nickel |
| 1929 | 36,446,000 | $1 - $20+ | 1929 buffalo nickel |
| 1929 D | 8,370,000 | $1 - $30+ | 1929 d buffalo nickel |
| 1929 S | 7,754,000 | $10 - $40+ | 1929 s buffalo nickel |
| 1930 | 22,849,000 | $1 - $25+ | 1930 buffalo nickel |
| 1930 S | 5,435,000 | $1 - $50+ | 1930 s buffalo nickel |
| 1931 S | 1,200,000 | $10 - $75+ | 1931 s buffalo nickel |
| 1934 | 20,213,003 | $1 - $30+ | 1934 buffalo nickel |
| 1934 D | 7,480,000 | $1 - $55+ | 1934 d buffalo nickel |
| 1935 | 58,264,000 | $1 - $15+ | 1935 buffalo nickel |
| 1935 D | 12,092,000 | $1 - $50+ | 1935 d buffalo nickel |
| 1935 S | 10,300,000 | $1 - $15+ | 1935 s buffalo nickel |
| 1936 | 119,001,420 | $1 - $20+ | 1936 buffalo nickel |
| 1936 D | 24,814,000 | $1 - $25+ | 1936 d buffalo nickel |
| 1936 S | 14,930,000 | $1 - $25+ | 1936 s buffalo nickel |
| 1937 | 79,485,769 | $1 - $10+ | 1937 buffalo nickel |
| 1937 D | 17,826,000 | $1 - $20+ | 1937 d buffalo nickel |
| 1937 S | 5,635,000 | $5 - $10+ | 1937 s buffalo nickel |
| 1938 D | 7,020,000 | $1 - $10+ | 1938 d buffalo nickel |
Buffalo Nickel History
The Buffalo nickel was first minted and distributed March 4th, 1913. The five-cent coin was designed with a profile image of a Native American and reverse image of a bison/American buffalo. The artist behind the design was James Fraser.
The design came from wanting to develop a more striking and beautiful/desirable coin compared to its predecessor: the Liberty V Nickel. Though a fantastic design, the coin itself has historically seen terrible upkeep as it is easily worn down. The vast majority of Buffalo nickels saw their date worn off the coin through regular wear-and-tear.
The buffalo nickel contains no silver and is predominately copper and valuable for its numismatic coin collecting features.
How to find Buffalo Nickels
You can still find buffalo nickels in your change and in circulation today. However, this is incredibly rare and most people looking to collect or find buffalo nickels buy them from coin dealers. The buffalo nickels in circulation tend to be worn down and not in good shape. High dollar value buffalo nickels tend to be due to errors or the much more rare dates as listed above in mintage quantities.
The rarest buffalo nickels, in order of date, are as follows:
Rare Buffalo Nickels
1913 S Type 1
1913 D Type 2
1913 S Type 2
1914/3 superimposed date
1914 D
1916 double die
1918/7 D superimposed date
1921 S
1935 double die
1936 D 3 /12 legged buffalo
1937 D 3 legs
The condition of any particular buffalo nickel is incredibly important as these coins are very susceptible to damage or just plain wear. A very good condition Buffalo Nickel, as a result, can fetch quite the premium. Especially if it is a rare one.
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