The Indian Head/Buffalo Nickel
I want to provide you with information on this historic coin even though it contains no silver. A small number of them can be quite valuable plus the images appearing on the obverse and reverse are among the best of any U.S. coin. Designed by James Earle Fraser (his initial F appears beneath the date) the nickel was struck from 1913 through 1938. A total of three U. S. Mints were involved in the production of the Buffalo Nickel: Denver; Philadelphia; and San Francisco.
Indian Head Nickels - Facts and Details
This
popular U.S. coin features the image of an Indian chief on the
obverse - reportedly a composite head of chiefs Iron Tail, Two
Moons and John Big Tree. The reverse features the image of an
American Buffalo - assumed to be that of Black Diamond (a famous
buffalo once a resident of the New York Zoological Gardens. The
mint mark is on the reverse side below the buffalo and just
under "FIVE CENTS". Mint marks are "D" for
Denver and "S" for the San Francisco Mints. If no
mint mark appears, it was minted in Philadelphia. Click on images
for a larger view.
The Philadelphia mint produced more of these nickels in any given
year than the Denver and San Francisco mints combined. The five
highest mintage (most common) Buffalo nickels, all from
Philadelphia are:
1936 - 118,997,000; 1937 - 79,840,000; 1920 - 63,093,000;
1919 - 60,868,000; 1935 - 58,264,000
The lowest mintage (least common) Buffalo nickels are all from the
San Francisco mint. If you have any of the coins listed below and
they are in decent condition, I would suggest you get an estimate
of worth either from a few dealers at a coin show or from one or
more local coin shops.
1926S - 970,000; 1931S - 1,200,000; 1913S* - 1,209,000;
1924S - 1,437,000; 1915S - 1,505,000
It should be noted that no nickels were produced in 1922. In 1938
only the Denver mint was producing Buffalo nickels (total of
7,020,000) as the Jefferson nickel was taking its place. A total
of 28,977,000 Jefferson nickels were produced by all three
mints in 1938. These are not rare.
*One variation of the 1913S is quite rare and could net you at
least a few hundred dollars.
Buffalo Error Coins
Error coins are mistakes usually made by mint employees and/or the equipment they are using. There are a few Buffalo error coins that can be worth anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Probably the most famous one being the 1937D three-legged buffalo. The Denver mint released an unspecified number of Buffalo nickels in 1937 with one of the buffalo's front legs missing. Even in somewhat worn condition, it is worth a few hundred dollars.
The most valuable Buffalo error coin is the 1916 Double Die Obverse minted in Philadelphia. What this fancy term means is that the coin was double stamped on the obverse with the second stamping not quite matching the location of the first thereby creating a shadow on the 6. Worth a few thousand even in somewhat worn condition.
A more common situation with error coins is where a date number is over-stamped with another number. This true of the 1918D nickel where the 8 was stamped over the original 7. Worth several hundred dollars depending on condition. Another is the 1914 nickel where a 4 was stamped over the original 3. Worth at least a few hundred unless extremely worn.
If you have any of the above coins, I encourage you to get them evaluated by a precious metals professional. Not a pawn shop, not a jewelry store but someone who is a coin professional.
My Small Success Story
Whenever I receive change containing nickels, I always check them
over to see if there are any WW II nickels. Issued from 1942-1945,
these are the only U.S. nickels to contain silver - just a small
amount (.0563 troy ounces) but enough to set aside and save.
Imagine my surprise to receive a 1917S Buffalo nickel from a
casino redemption machine (click on images for a larger view of
this coin). The San Francisco nickels tend to be worth more as the
mintage numbers are low - this one being 4,193,000. Not that rare
but I ended up selling it on eBay for $25.00. Not a bad return. So
keep your eyes open for such opportunities.
If you are ready to shop for Buffalo nickels after reading the above material, click on this Amazon link Buying Coins and click on the Buffalo Nickles icon at the top of the site. You will see what coins are available and their asking price. Be aware I receive a small compensation if you buy through this site which does not result in you paying more.
Disclaimer: I have made every reasonable effort to produce an informative and helpful article on Buffalo nickels based on my research and experiences. However, I make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation or purpose. See Terms and Conditions for more info.