You might have a treasure rattling around in your pocket and not even know it. Those worn Buffalo nickels you toss in a drawer after a trip to the store could be more valuable than you think. A Buffalo nickel can be worth anywhere from a few cents to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on what you’re holding. Let’s be real, most are worth face value or slightly more. Still, certain dates, mint marks, and especially minting errors can transform an ordinary five-cent piece into a small fortune. It sounds crazy, but some of these coins have sold for well into six figures.
The Famous 1937-D Three-Legged Buffalo
The 1937-D three-legged Buffalo nickel is one of the most famous and most important coins of the 20th century, with the front leg of the Buffalo missing due to excessively polished die. By 1965, examples ranging from Fine to About Uncirculated sold for approximately $415 to $985 in today’s dollars, and experts estimate the total production at roughly 20,000 pieces. In 2021, a three-legged nickel graded MS66 was sold for $99,875.00 at Legend Rare Coin Auctions. USA Coin Book estimated value of the 1937-D Buffalo Nickel three legs variety is worth $606 in Average Condition and can be Worth $2,233 to $5,164 or more in Uncirculated Mint Condition. What happened here was simple human error amplified by thousands of strikes, and collectors have been chasing this coin ever since it entered circulation.
The 1916 Doubled Die Obverse Rarity
The 1916 Doubled Die Buffalo nickel is the most popular doubled die variety for the entire Buffalo nickel series, with about 200 examples known. This doubled die shows unmistakable doubling of the date, chin, feathers, throat, and lips of the Native American chief, with the most prominent areas of doubling evident in the 16 numerals of the 1916 date. In 2022, a CAC-approved PCGS MS63 example sold at Heritage Auctions for $138,000. Honestly, when you see one of these in person, the doubling is so dramatic you can spot it with the naked eye. The vast majority of examples are in circulated grades, with the plurality hovering between VG8 and XF40, and very few are known in uncirculated grades, with the highest grade coming in at PCGS MS64.
The 1918/7-D Overdate Error
The 1918/7-D Overdate shows a faint 7 under the 8 in the date, caused by reusing a 1917 die in 1918, and it’s highly collectible and rare, often selling for thousands of dollars. The 1918/7-D overdate in MS-66 condition holds the record, selling for over $350,000 in a 2006 Heritage Auctions sale. This 8 Over 7 Buffalo Nickel from 1918 is named for a date overstamp error where the mint stamped the 1918 date over an already stamped 1917, and this is an extremely rare error produced only in the Denver mint. The mint was trying to be economical by reusing dies, yet they created one of numismatics’ most sought-after mistakes.
Low Mintage 1926-S Buffalo Nickel
The 1926-S Buffalo Nickel is notorious for its poor strike quality, making well-preserved examples extremely rare, with a mintage of just over 970,000, one of the lowest production runs in the series, and high-grade specimens are worth tens of thousands of dollars. With a mintage of only 970,000 pieces, the 1926-S Buffalo Nickel ranks as the rarest regular issue in the entire series, with NGC US Coin Price Guide reporting values of $5,050 in MS 60, $10,650 in MS 63 and $110,000 in MS 65. This coin is tough to find in any grade, let alone Mint State. The San Francisco Mint produced only 970,000 pieces, compared to the Philadelphia Mint’s production of over 44.693 million coins that same year, creating significant rarity by comparison.
The 1913-S Type 2 Key Date
The 1913-S Type 2 is truly a scarce date with only 1,209,000 coins struck, bearing the re-designed reverse. The Type I coin from the San Francisco Mint saw only 2,105,000 coins struck, and due to the design, many are well-worn with the denomination unreadable, making it the scarcest of the three Type I coins. Here’s the thing, the Type 1 version had a design flaw that caused rapid wear on the denomination. When the mint redesigned it mid-year to Type 2, they created a collecting distinction that matters today. Many of the key and high value nickels are the San Francisco coins, and a date with all numerals clearly showing plus the S mintmark is a premium value nickel.
The 1920-D Denver Issue
The 1920 D mint mark Buffalo nickel is considerably rarer than its Philadelphia counterpart, with a mintage of 9,418,000 pieces, notably fewer coins than Philadelphia’s output that year. In 2008, an MS67 was sold for $138,000 at Bowers & Merena, establishing this price point for the grade. Strike quality can vary with this issue, and it is a challenging date to locate in Gem condition, as the strike on this issue ranges from fairly sharp to weak. It’s hard to say for sure, but the Denver mint seemed to have more issues with consistent strike quality across the entire Buffalo series.
The 1913-D Type 2 Early Date
The 1913-D Buffalo nickel Type 2 MS68 specimen sold for $143,750 in 2008, demonstrating strong market appreciation for high-grade examples of this early Denver mint issue. The Type 2 designation refers to a mid-year design change made in 1913, where the reverse design of the Type I Buffalo nickel caused the denomination FIVE CENTS to wear off quickly, so the mint changed the design mid-year and placed the FIVE CENTS in a recess below the Buffalo, thus creating the 1913 Type II Buffalo nickel and improving the coin’s durability in circulation. The 1913-D Buffalo nickel Type 2 is considered a key date within the series, and despite having a mintage of 4,156,000 pieces, the 1913-D Type 2 has proven challenging for collectors to locate in higher circulated grades.
Understanding Condition and Grading
Coins in pristine condition can sell for 50 times more than others in poor condition, and the condition affects Buffalo Nickels more than other coins. Using a single light source and magnification, first inspect for a clear date, as the date area is high in relief on Buffalo nickels and quickly wears, and a bold date showing places your coin in the upper grade ranges. The first sign of an uncirculated specimen is the presence of a clear, distinct date, high grade nickels will show original luster and frost on high spots, and in uncirculated Buffalo nickels these spots should have no signs of wear or color change but should retain brilliant luster. Let’s be real, most Buffalo nickels you find in circulation are heavily worn. That’s exactly why the high-grade examples command such staggering premiums.
Spotting Counterfeits and Alterations
It is the most valuable variants that are most often counterfeited, and this also applies when collectors try to find out how much buffalo head nickels are worth and come across fraudulent offers, as the difference between a fake and an original can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Values from $660 to over $100,000 depending on condition, genuine coins are struck by special machinery, most counterfeit coins are made by pouring liquid metal into molds or dies, and this procedure often leaves die marks, such as cracks or pimples of metal on the counterfeit coin. Before you buy what you think is a authentic 1937-D 3 Leg Buffalo Nickel, make sure you look closely at the images provided and look at certified examples, or buy an example that’s already certified by PCGS, NGC or ANACS, and avoid buying raw examples unless you’re 100% positive it’s authentic. The counterfeit market for Buffalo nickels is disturbingly active, particularly for the three-legged variety and key dates.
Where to Find Mint Marks and Dates
Nickels minted in Denver and San Francisco will have their respective mint marks, D and S, shown on the reverse underneath FIVE CENTS. Looking on the reverse, just under Five Cents, if without a mintmark, the coin was struck at Philadelphia, as the Philadelphia mint did not place mintmarks on Buffalo nickels. These coins were dated when they were first struck, but the date wore out over the years, and features such as the date and the denomination were designed with a high relief, making them prone to wear, even after being redesigned a second time, and Buffalo nickels are very old coins that have been in circulation for more than 100 years. Honestly, the raised design that makes these coins so beautiful also made them terrible at resisting wear. Many of these nickels have seen their date of minting worn off, and the date’s disappearance can be attributed to its placement on a raised portion of the coin’s design, making it susceptible to wear and tear over the years.
