The buffalo nickel is technically known as "the five-cent Indian head" coin.
It's also referred to as the bison nickel or Indian nickel due to the Indian on the front.
The buffalo on the reverse of the coin was supposedly modeled after a bison named Black Diamond that resided in the New York Central Park Zoo.
Did you know? The buffalo head nickel was designed by James E. Fraser who used 3 different native Americans as models.
See how much your buffalo nickels are worth...
It's one of the more eye appealing coins. Unfortunately, the date on the buffalo nickel was placed in a bad spot and was easily worn away when the coins hit circulation. That's why almost everybody who owns circulated a buffalo nickel is going to have a coin with a date that is just barely legible. These aren't worth much money to a collector. The ones that haven't received so much wear on them are commonly worth $2.00-$5.00.
If you have quite a few buffalo nickels in any kind of decent shape, I'd recommend getting yourself a price book (such as the "Red Book") because buffalo nickels jump around a bit in price from coin to coin.
The Value Of Buffalo Nickels
The buffalo head nickel was minted from 1913 to 1938. Here are the values of some of the more noteworthy buffalo nickels:
The first one on the list, the 3-legged buffalo, is one of the more sought after buffalo nickels. On the 3-legged buffalo coins, the stump and hoof remain of the front leg but the leg itself is missing. This was caused by a section of the die that had been completely polished off.
1937 D 3-legged - $500.00-$1000.00
1936 D 3 1/2 legs - $800.00-$5000.00
1935 Double Die Reverse - $40.00-$150.00
1931 S - $15.00-$20.00
1926 S - $18.00-$450.00
1924 S - $15.00-$475.00
1923 S - $7.50-$125.00
1921 S - $70.00-$525.00
1920 D - $8.00-$110.00
1919 S - $8.00-$100.00
1919 D - $12.00-$120.00
1918 D - $18.00-$120.00
1918 D 8over7 - $1000.00-$5500.00
1916 Double Die - $2200.00-$11000.00
1914 D - $80.00-$200.00
1914 4over3 - $350.00-$550.00
1913 S - $300.00-$425.00
1913 D - $100.00-$170.00
NOTE: Listed above are a few coins that have one date over another. These are known as "overdates".
Here's a picture of the 1918 8/7 overdate.
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I have a 1936-D five cent but the image is fliped on the outher side is it valuable
Taylor,
Very good--the "D" does refer to the mint at which the coin was produced (Denver, in hat case), but a Buffalo nickel without any mint mark would have bene produced at the Philadelphia mint. 1935 Buffalo nickels are very common, and worth between $1-3 if the coin is well worn but the date is still visible and basic details are intact, and up to $10-12 for a lightly circulated coin with almost all details intact.
David,
A 1920 Buffalo nickel is worth between roughly $5 to about $25 in circulated grades. Uncirculated pieces can bring in $60 or more.
Chandra,
Any such coin bearing the word "copy" on it is simply a replica coin---essentially a fake, as it were. While these may be neat to look at, they do not carry any monetary value to coin collectors.
how much of the indian head nickel with the word copy on it is in circulation? (this coin is a little bit smaller than a dime). Also, how did this coin got out?
I found a buffalo indian head nickel and you can see all four legs and it says 1920 which is visible to the eyes. I was wondering just what thats worth? Please let me know any help would be appreciated thankyou.
I have a 1935 buffalo nickel missing its D on it telling which mint it came from. How much could that be worth or is there anything special about it?