Buffalo Nickel | Coin Collecting 123

1918 Buffalo Nickel

The Buffalo Nickel

The Buffalo Nickel sometimes known as the Bison Nickel or Indian Head Nickel was minted from 1913 to 1938. The nickel an American five cent coin was designed by James Earl Fraser.

Very soon after the Buffalo Nickel went into circulation, a problem with the reverse side was detected. The "FIVE CENTS" inscription, which was on a raised mound at the bottom of the reverse, was one of the highest spots on the coin and it wore off very quickly. The design was modified by Charles Barber during its first year of production. Barber removed the raised mound and lowered the relief of the inscription so that it would not wear off so quickly. Another problem that was not addressed was the placement of the date. Similarly to the "FIVE CENTS" in the original design, the date was placed in a relief that exposed it to excessive wear.

This issue was never fixed by the Mint; so many Buffalo Nickels have their dates partially or completely obliterated through extensive circulation. What collectors try to do is place the coin in a solution of weak acid or put acid on the worn area of the coin, in hopes of re-etching the date. Such re-etched Buffalo Nickels have very little value as investment collectibles.

For the 1937 and 37-D buffalo nickel an interesting change took place and we ended up with the famous “3-legged” buffalo nickel. It was kind of an interesting accident when removing undesirable marks from the die the leg was ground off by accident. So an uncirculated example of this minting error is found, it’s worth a bunch of money.