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How to Collect Buffalo Nickels

One of the most artistic coin designs ever used by The United States Mint was the Buffalo (or "Indian Head") nickel which went into production in 1913. The coin, designed by James Earle Fraser, featured a composite profile of a Native American on the obverse and an American buffalo (bison) on the reverse. The model for the bison was "Black Diamond" who was residing at the Central Park Zoo in New York City at the time the coin was designed. This is a beautiful and beloved coin. The series lasted only 26 years and was over in 1938 with the introduction of the Jefferson nickel. Interestingly, the exact design was brought back by the mint for a Commemorative Silver Dollar and 1 oz. gold bullion coins which were issued recently.

There are plenty of rare issues in this series. Completing (all dates and mint marks) of this set in AU or UNC condition will test the budget and tenacity of the dedicated collector. It will also provide many months or years of numismatic joy! Here is how to collect these prized coins.

Things You'll Need

A high quality magnifying glass
A strong light source
A Dansco Buffalo nickel album
White cotton gloves

Instructions

- 1
  GETTING STARTED
  
  The novice collector is advised to start with the basic set which consists of one circulated coin representing each year of the series. Very Good (VG) or Extra Fine (EF) are reasonably priced grades, especially for the common dates.
- 2
  EXPERIENCED COLLECTORS
  
  The professional collector or numismatic investor will want to assemble a collection of all "business" dates and mint marks. Grades from VG to BU will be very pricey. The listing below identifies the common and rarer issues in this series.
- 3
  KEY DATES (RAREST)
  
  Mintages of less than 2.5 million include the following dates (scarcest listed first):
  
  1926 S; 1931 S; 1913 S Type 2; 1924 S; 1915 S; 1921 S Type 1; 1913 S Type 1
  
  ** The San Francisco Mint produced far fewer Buffalo coins than the other two branch mints.
- 4
  SEMI-KEY DATES (SCARCE)
  
  1927 S; 1914 S; 1914 D; 1913 D Type 2; 1917 S; 1925 D; 1918 S
  
  ** These are difficult dates to obtain, especially in the higher grades.
- 5
  LOW MINTAGE DATES (LIMITED)
  
  1924 D; 1913 D Type 1; 1930 S; 1937 S; 1926 D; 1927 D; 1923 S; 1925 S;
  1928 D; 1928 S; 1938 D; 1934 D; 1919 S; 1915 D; 1929 S; 1919 D
  
  ** All of the above listed coins (rare, scare and limited) represent less than 12 percent of all of the Buffalo nickels produced!
- 6
  PROOF ISSUES
  
  1913 Type 1; 1913 Type 2; 1914; 1915; 1916; 1936; 1937
  
  ** These extraordinary specimens are extremely rare. A grand total of 16,148 proofs were made for all of the above listed dates. More than half of these represent the last two years of the series. The Philadelphia mint struck all proofs. Truly beautiful coins!
- 7
  ERROR COINS (NOT CONSIDERED PART OF REGULAR SERIES)
  
  1914/3; 1916 Double Die Obverse; 1918 D over 17; 1935 Double Die; 1938 D over S; and the all time classic 1937 D "3 Legged Buffalo"
  
  ** All of these are extraordinarily rare and very valuable.
- 8
  COMMON DATE COINS
  
  The remaining coins and mint marks (separate from those listed above) are available in VG and EF condition for a reasonable price. Higher grade examples will carry a premium price. It should be noted that the mintage of EACH of these issues exceeded 8 MILLION coins! The 1936 P nickel had a mintage of 119 million!

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