Buffalo Nickel | CRATEX Abrasives

Buffalo nickel or "buffalo head nickel" is what usually comes to mind when hobo nickels are mentioned. It's sort of its trademark host coin. First introduced in 1913, buffalo nickel was minted every year until 1938 with a few exceptions: 1922, 1932 and 1933. Over 1.2 billion coins were struck in Denver, San Francisco and Philadelphia Mints before the series ended. If the coin was produced in Philadelphia, it will have no mint mark. If it was produced in Denver it will have "D" or "S" for San Francisco on the back of the coin below the words "FIVE CENTS".

The coins with large, thick Indian Head profiles in the front and the buffalo in the back instantly became popular among talented carvers and newcomers who got attracted by the new radical design of the coin. The artists got a much larger surface for their art, as the Buffalo nickel was a larger coin and the depicted Indian Heads occupied five-sixths of the coin surface. Moreover, large heads were male, which means that besides being larger, they had coarser features which opened a whole new world of alternation possibilities.

The date on the coin is not crucial, but it’s preferable if the coin has a date. The “LIBERTY” letters are also not crucial but are preferable. The collectors are always more interested in the quality of the carving, and the most desirable attributes are clean and smooth fields, deep carving, raised or pushed metal, unusual subjects and altered facial features.

There are a lot of valuable or famous buffalo nickels, but we decided to mention four well-known examples that you should know about.

1913 Buffalo Coin – Shift Away from Liberty Head

In 1913 the US mint replaced the Liberty Head nickel with the Indian Head or the Buffalo nickel, and two types of buffalo nickels were produced that year: type one, that had "FIVE CENTS" written on a mound of dirt on which the buffalo stands, and type two, with "FIVE CENTS" written lower into the design below a straight line that replaced the hill. The reason the hill was replaced with a straight line is that the coins wore too easily as most of the design was raised above the rim. This is why the early 1913 coin is the only buffalo nickel that is recognizable without the date.

The coins were produced in all three US mints while the 1913-S type 2 coin is the rarest.

3-legged Buffalo Nickel – The Most Famous Error Coin

The three-legged 1937-D buffalo nickel is a true classic. It is one of the most famous and important coins of the 20^th century that has fascinated collectors and artists for over three generations. The name comes from the back of the coin that features the buffalo that is missing its right front leg. The stump and the hoof are there, but the entire leg is missing.

The missing leg was caused by inadequate attempt to repair a damaged die leaving that portion completely polished off. The coins escaped into circulation before the inspectors at Denver Mint noticed the mistake.

Since these coins can be worth a lot of money, one must be on the lookout for counterfeits made by removing the leg from a normal 1937-D buffalo nickel. There are a few ways to determine if the coin is a counterfeit and one them is to look for an imperfection that looks like a stream of water coming out of the buffalo's belly. If it's there, the coin is the real deal.

1935 Buffalo Nickel - Double Die Reverse

The 1935 buffalo nickel is also known as the doubled die reverse coin. A sloppy workmanship and improper alignment of the master hub resulted in the doubled impression of the back of the coin. Specifically, the wordings "FIVE CENTS" and "E PLURIBUS UNUM" appear doubled.

This is the only buffalo nickel coin with significant doubling on the back side and is therefore very valuable. Most of the coins entered the circulation, so the uncirculated ones are sold for a premium price. For example, a 1935 buffalo nickel, grade PCGS MS-65 was sold in 2007 at Rarities Coin Auction for $104,650.

1936 Buffalo Nickel – Big Year for Buffalo Nickel

1936 was a big year for buffalo nickels as it is the most minded year in the series. Almost 119 million coins were produced and used heavily and widely in circulation. On top of this, the details on the coin were of high-design, so most of the coins today are in average to below-average condition. Since so many coins were produced and had little value, they became one of the most popular coins used by the hobo coin artists.

Although extremely rare, uncirculated coins still exist, but even the high-grade pieces are cheaper than the high-grade coins minted between the early to mid 1920s. One of the famous and rare examples is the 1936-D polished reverse die with 3.5-legged buffalo. While the 1937-D has the three-legged buffalo on the back, 1936-D has a buffalo with a partially polished-off front right leg. Currently, only twenty are known to exist.

Although not worth a lot of money, the 1936 buffalo nickel is worth holding on to. Its worth has been slowly increasing over the years due to its growing popularity among collectors and slow increase in scarcity.

Buffalo Nickel Value

Buffalo coins without the date have no value to the collectors, as the value cannot be determined without the date. Such buffalo coins are worth about 15 cents per piece as hobo coin artists, jewelers and others use them for various purposes.

Coins with partial dates are worth more than the dateless nickels. Depending on the digits showing, partial-date coins are worth from 50 cents if two or three digits are seen to 20% of the market value if the last two or three digits are seen.

If the coin is worn, it is considered circulated, and if there is no evidence of wear, it is considered uncirculated. Naturally, uncirculated coins are worth more than the circulated ones, and you can determine the exact grade of a buffalo nickel with the help of a professional numismatist or a coin dealer.

Some buffalo coins in any condition are worth much more than other common pieces. The rarest buffalo coins have the greatest value. The rarest of them all would be the 1916/16 overdate ($1200 in average circulation condition), 1918 over 17-D (at least $800), 1937-D "3-legged" buffalo coin.

Only a few three-legged buffalo coins survived in new condition up to this day. The ones that entered the circulation are worth between $400 and $1000, depending on the condition, and uncirculated coins can go up to $20,000 or more, as they are quite rare.

Type 2 of the 1913-S buffalo coin belongs to the scarce coins and is worth about $250; scares dates also include type 2 of the 1913-D (about $80) and the 1921-S (about $40). Of course, the exact buffalo nickel worth is determined based on the date, mint and the condition. So, for example, the 1913-D type 2 uncirculated coin, grade NGC MS-68 was sold for $143,750 in 2008 at the January 2008 Orlando Rarities Sale.

Almost all coins produced before 1929 are very scarce in uncirculated condition. The prices can range from $10 for 1938-D, which is the most common date, to extraordinary prices for a 1926-S buffalo coin in a perfect condition.

For example, the 1926 San Francisco Mint yielded only 970,000 buffalo coins, which makes the 1926-S the lowest mintage buffalo coin ever. A very few coins were therefore saved from entering the circulation, so the high-quality coins are worth more than $300,000 which coin collectors are more than willing to pay.