Buffalo Nickels: A Journey Through American Coinage History

Buffalo nickels, also called Indian head nickels, are American five-cent coins made from 1913 to 1938. The coin’s two names reflect the Native American profile and buffalo designs on each respective side.

The buffalo nickel was significant as the second US coin to feature a realistic Native American, the first being the gold $2.50 quarter eagle issued in 1908. The next coin to feature a Native American wouldn’t come until the Sacagawea Dollar was introduced in 2000.

The coins were also part of the era from 1909 to 1915 dubbed the “Renaissance of American Coinage.”

Intrigued yet? Come along as our experts here at Coins Auctioned discuss the history, design, value, and varieties of the buffalo nickel!

Pictured above: Obverse and reverse of 1936 buffalo nickel | Image credit: Photo taken by user bobby131313; Image courtesy of CCF Numismatics; Public domain

Historical Background

The buffalo nickel’s history goes back to the era of William Howard Taft, who served as US President from 1909 to 1913.

His administration continued the “Renaissance of American Coinage” established by his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt. The renaissance saw virtually all circulated coins adopt new, modern designs reflecting America’s development after the Civil War and booming industrial growth.

Based on an 1890 act by Congress, coin designs could only change every 25 years. The only coin eligible for redesign in 1909 was the Liberty Head nickel.

In 1911, Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh was encouraged by a letter from his son to improve the nickel’s design. The Mint started looking at designs, and sculptor James Earl Fraser quickly came up with some. Fraser was recommended to and approved by MacVeagh to design the new five-cent coin.

Unfortunately, the Indian head 5 cents were prone to wearing quickly, even after die adjustments. They were replaced by the Jefferson nickel in late 1938.

Pictured above: Reverse of the Type 1 Buffalo Nickel minted only in 1913. This coin is graded MS65 by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) | Image credit: Brandon Grossardt, Public domain

Design and Symbolism

The buffalo nickel coin is made of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel. The coin is 21.21 mm (0.835 in) in diameter, 1.95 mm (0.077 in) thick, and weighs 5 grams.

The obverse (heads side) of the nickel depicts a Native American profile facing right, with “LIBERTY” inscribed to the upper right and the mintage year inscribed on the lower left.

Who is the titular “Indian head” on the buffalo nickel? It’s a bit complicated, as Fraser gave several answers over the years. The short answer: it was a composite sketch, likely of Sioux Chief Iron Tail, Cheyenne Chief Two Moons, and Kiowa Chief Big Tree.

The reverse (tails side) features a buffalo (AKA American bison) facing left and standing on a hill in Type I versions (pictured above) or flat ground in Type II versions.

Inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” along the top, “E PLURIBUS UNUM” on the upper right, and “FIVE CENTS” at the bottom. The mint mark, if present, is centered under the “FIVE CENTS” inscription.

Fraser claimed that he modeled the buffalo after the popular American bison Black Diamond while visiting the Bronx Zoo. However, Black Diamond wasn’t kept at the Bronx Zoo and has different horns than the buffalo on the nickel. Some historians believe it was actually Bronx, a buffalo at the Bronx Zoo with a closer resemblance.

Why did Fraser choose this design?

Fraser spent his childhood witnessing the “Wild West” expansion, and its negative effects on Native Americans inspired his art. He wanted the coin to be unmistakably American, choosing symbols of the west and honoring the Native Americans he grew up around.

Appropriately, Taft introduced the new coin on February 22, 1913, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the National American Indian Memorial in New York — notably, the memorial was never completed. Most of the 40 buffalo nickels provided by the US Mint for the event were distributed to 30 Native American chiefs attending.

Pictured above: Photograph of Two Moons (1847–1917), a Cheyenne Chief andone of the inspirations for the buffalo nickel obverse; Created in 1910, published in 1911, in The North American Indian, Volume 6, plate no. 213 | Image credit: Edward S. Curtis, Northwestern University, Digital Library Collections, Public domain

Minting and Production

The buffalo nickel was first made in 1913. Although the first buffalo nickels were technically minted for the February 1913 ceremony, the nickels were first circulated in March 1913.

The coins were minted until 1938, except for the years 1922, 1932, and 1933 due to decreased coin production during the post-WWI recession and the Great Depression.

Three mints struck Indian head nickels, denoted by their mint mark on the coin:

• “D” — Denver Mint

• “S” — San Francisco Mint

• None — Philadelphia Mint

Across all mintage years, 1,212,995,919 buffalo nickels were struck. The highest mintage year was 1936 with over 119 million. The average mintage was around 18.9 million.

Like its namesakes, the Native American buffalo nickel unfortunately went through many hurdles.

Hobbs Affair Hurdle

The coin’s design was publicly announced in July 1912. The first hurdle was the Hobbs Affair, named for Clarence Hobbs of the Hobbs Manufacturing Company.

In a nutshell, all the vending machine companies were fine with the design except Hobbs, who delayed the nickel’s final design approval for months because it wouldn’t work in the new coin counterfeit-detection machines he was trying to sell.

Pictured above: Stacks of dateless Buffalo nickels | Image credit: EdditoVulgata, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Wear and Tear Hurdle

Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber (who designed the previous Liberty head nickel) oversaw the buffalo nickel production process. He noticed what became the second hurdle: the dies, along with the mintage year and denomination, wore out too quickly.

To address this, Fraser changed the design to have a larger “FIVE CENTS” inscription and flat ground under the buffalo. These new dies actually wore out faster, though.

Later, the mintage year numerals were made thicker, but many of these buffalo nickel dates still wore off quickly.

1920s Weak Strikes

In 1916, the buffalo nickel design was slightly altered, moving and emphasizing the “LIBERTY” inscription.

In the 1920s, many buffalo nickels from the Denver Mint and San Francisco Mint were poorly struck with weak dies, particularly the word “LIBERTY” plus the bison’s tail and horn.

The most notable weak strikes are on 1920-S (minted in San Francisco) and 1926-D (minted in Denver) buffalo nickels.

Pictured above: The obverse of the Type 1 Buffalo Nickel minted only in 1913. The 1913 Type 1 Buffalo nickel is notoriously weakly struck, and this coin is graded MS65 by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) | Image credit: Brandon Grossardt, Public domain

Key Dates and Varieties

Buffalo five cent coins aren’t particularly rare, but some factors make certain types more valuable:

• Variety: Very few buffalo nickels were struck as proofs, making any of these more valuable than the typical circulated (business-strike) variety.

• Low Mintage: Examples from batches with lower mintages (fewer were made) are rarer and more valuable.

• Mint Error: Buffalo nickels that were minted incorrectly and still circulated are highly sought-after.

• Condition: Nearly all Indian head nickels were circulated and wore away quickly, so a rare specimen in better condition carries significantly higher value. Having your coin graded and certified by a professional is crucial for resale value.

• Demand: Buffalo nickels fluctuate in popularity over time, making their value fluctuate, too.

Keeping these in mind, let’s look at valuable buffalo nickel varieties:

Proof Varieties

Very few proof buffalo nickels were struck during the coin’s initial run, making them a rare treasure. All proofs were struck in Philadelphia but only from 1913 to 1916.

The most valuable buffalo nickel proof coins were the 1913-P Type I variety, with a low mintage of only 1,520. These are worth nearly $97,000 in PR-68 grades.

Type II proofs in PR-68 or PR-69 condition from 1913 and 1915 are worth $66,000 to $69,000. 1915-P proofs in circulated condition can be worth over $1,000.

Key Dates

The first buffalo nickel key date is 1926-S, which had the lowest mintage in the coin’s series at 970,000. With a grade of MS-60 or higher, this buffalo nickel can sell for $1,700 to $322,000!

Another key date is 1931-S, the second lowest mintage at 1,200,000. These are worth up to $100 in MS-60 grades or higher.

The most valuable variety is 1913-S Type I. This variety had the original, short-lived design and a low mintage of only 2.1 million. Even in circulated condition, these can fetch over $100, and top-quality specimens can be worth $27,500. The most expensive one ever sold in 2021 for over $79,000!

Pictured above: Close up of 1916-P Doubled-Die Obverse error on mintage year of buffalo nickel | Image credit: PCGS Coin Facts, Free use

Buffalo Nickel Errors

Some of the notable buffalo nickel errors to look for are:

• 1914-P 4 Over 3: Number 4 in the year was struck over previous year’s 3; Worth $250 to $7,000; Most expensive sold in 2002 for $63,250

• 1916-P Doubled-Die Obverse (DDO): Most sought-after variety; Last two digits in the date “16” are doubled; Worth $2,500 to $159,000 in circulated condition or $20,000 to over $155,000 in MS-60 or higher

• 1918/17-D Overdate: The number 8 in the mintage year was struck over the previous year’s 7; Worth $1,100 to $65,000 in lower condition and up to $250,750 in MS-65 condition

• 1935-P Doubled-Die Reverse (DDR): Doubling of “FIVE CENTS” letters; Worth $50 to $1,400 in lower condition and $5,700 to over $100,000 in top condition

• 1936-D 3 and a Half Legs: One front leg of buffalo is only partly struck; Worth $400 to $675 in low condition and $14,000 to over $21,000 in greater condition

• 1937-D Three-Legged Buffalo: One of buffalo’s legs is missing, caused by removal while fixing a die-contact problem; Thousands struck; Worth $600 to over $5,700; Most expensive sold for $99,875

• 1938 D on S: “S” and “D” mint marks struck over each other after dies were repunched; First repunched mintmark found in any US coin; Usually worth $25 to $500; Highest graded value was $25,000

Error coins are almost always valuable, but grading plays a huge role.

Pictured above: Obverse of 1917 buffalo nickel graded MS-68 by PCGS | Image credit: PCGS Photograde, Free use

Collecting and Grading

Today, buffalo nickels have become a staple among coin collectors, up there with state quarters and half dollars. A key part of any collection is knowing your coin’s value, though.

The main grades for buffalo nickel value are:

1. Uncirculated / Mint State (MS): Highest points of design maintain mint luster, no wear from circulation

2. About Uncirculated-55 (AU-55): Very minor wear on high points of design from circulation, well-preserved surfaces, near-complete mint luster

3. Extra / Extremely Fine-40 (EF-40 or XF-40): Very slight wear on high points of design, elements still well-defined, traces of mint luster present

4. Very Fine-20 (VF-20): Minor to moderate wear on highest points of design (beginning to flatten), still attractive condition

5. Fine-12 (F-12): Uniform, moderate wear across surface, major elements bold, inscriptions are still distinct

6. Very Good-8 (VG-8): Well worn, major design elements flat but defined

7. Good-4 (G-4): Heavily worn, readable but somewhat faint inscriptions, major elements readable, mostly complete rim

8. About Good-3 (AG-3): Heavily worn, inscriptions not easily readable, partial rim blending, dates possibly worn away

If you have buffalo nickels, it’s best to store them in a safe, protected case and do NOT clean them.

Pictured above: 1997 Nickel Trophy | Image credit: Bison Illustrated

Modern Buffalo Nickel Commemoratives

The original buffalo nickel series ended in 1938, but the Native American five-cent coin’s design has been repurposed in modern times.

From 1983 to 2003, the winners of an annual football game between North Dakota State University (NDSU) and University of North Dakota (UND) received a giant replica of the buffalo nickel called the Nickel Trophy.

Since 2001, the US Mint has released versions of the buffalo nickel in both silver and gold. All have the original 1913 Type I design with some slight modifications.

In 2001, the US Mint released commemorative American Buffalo silver dollars, partly to commemorate the buffalo nickel but also the National Museum of the American Indian opening. The coin’s $10 surcharge helped raise money for the museum and its outreach programs.

With a limited mintage of 500,000, the silver dollars were struck in 90 percent silver (900 fineness) with uncirculated and proof varieties from the Denver Mint (“D” mintmark) and Philadelphia Mint (“P” mintmark) respectively.

In 2006, the US Mint introduced the American Buffalo Gold Bullion coin series. These investment-grade 1 oz gold coins are struck in 99.99 percent (24K) gold from American gold mines.

The coins are available in bullion and proof varieties, the latter being the US Mint’s first 24K gold proof coin. They’re only struck at the West Point Mint (no mint mark) and have a face value of $50 USD — but a much higher market value given their gold content.

These modern additions have expanded the buffalo coin series while enhancing appreciation and education for the rich symbolism of the original buffalo nickel.

Pictured above: Obverse and reverse of 2001-D buffalo silver dollar commemorative coin| Image credit: US Mint, Public domain

Buffalo Nickels: A Beautiful Excerpt of Authentic America

Buffalo nickels were part of a revolutionary shift in American coinage. While they created some headaches at the time, they’ve become a staple among coin collectors and historical enthusiasts.

These gorgeous coins represent an authentic vision of the American west, making them a perfect addition to any collection!

Find the perfect buffalo nickel for your collection today!