Why Doesn't My Buffalo Nickel Have a Date?

Original Date Location

• The original location of the date on buffalo nickels is on the bust side of the coin, the side on which the Native American is depicted. The date appears just below the slope of the back of his neck and just to the left of the braid of his hair. Sometimes, if you look carefully through a magnifying glass, you can see the outline of the date even on extremely worn coins.

Wear Problems

• Excessive wear was a recurring problem with most American coins produced in the early part of the twentieth century. All of the silver coins and the buffalo nickel had this problem. The reason is that they were designed with the date positioned in high relief, which on the nickel was approximately even with the rim of the coin. If you compare a mint-state buffalo nickel with a Jefferson nickel, you will see that the Jefferson nickel corrected this problem by positioning the date in a lower relief than the rim of the coin.

Misstruck Coins

• Occasionally, a misstruck coin will make its way through the scrutiny of the U.S. Treasury. Today, this is far less common, as the Treasury employs special equipment designed to prevent misstruck coins. In the days of the buffalo nickel, however, the coins were checked by hand. These coins are easy to differentiate from standard coins, however. They are approximately the same size as a normal buffalo nickel, but the face of the coin is offset slightly and a part of the original coin blank is seen as part of the coin.

Values

• Values for coins with a missing date vary wildly. For instance,on a buffalo nickel, count the number of legs you can see on the buffalo. In 1936 and 1937, the Denver mint produced an unknown number of three-legged buffalo coins that today are quite valuable, even in the worst condition. In addition to this, a coin that was struck off-center often commands a premium, but the absence of a date could put off some collectors, actually reducing the coin's value.