Buffalo Nickels

1937 S Buffalo Nickel
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Buffalo Nickels have won a permanent place in the hearts of many Americans, including mine.

However, this interesting and very beloved coin should actually be referred to as the Indian Head Nickel rather than the Buffalo Head Nickel, as the buffalo is actually on the reverse (back) of the coin.

The Indian Nickel was minted from 1913 to 1938 from 75% copper and 25% nickel.

It features a Native American profile on the front (obverse) of the coin and a buffalo on the back (reverse).

The Indian profile is actually a composite of three different Indian chiefs. They are believed to be Iron Tail, Two Moons and John Big Tree.

This was the first time actual Native Americans were used on coins. All previous coins depicting "Indians" had actually been Caucasians wearing an Indian headdress.

The buffalo on the reverse is actually an American Bison, and is modeled on "Black Diamond", a famous buffalo of the time at the the Central Park Zoo.

Hobo Nickel
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This buffalo was the first animal other than the bald eagle to be featured on a US coin.

An interesting story about Indian Nickels (and some other coins) is that people would sometimes carve the Indian portrait into another face.

These coins became known as "hobo nickels"

The Indian Head Nickel has two variety types and was produced at three US Mints: Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco.

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1913 Buffalo Nickel
Variety Type 1

Type	Variety 1 - FIVE CENTS on Raised Ground
Designer	James Earle Fraser
Years Minted	1913 only
Weight	5 grams
Composition	75% copper, 25% nickel
Diameter	approx. 21.2 mm
Edge	Plain
Mints	Philadelphia - no mint mark Denver - D San Francisco - S
Mintage	1913 - 30,992,000 1913D - 5,337,000 1913S - 2,105,000

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1913-1938 Buffalo Nickel
Variety Type 2

Type	Variety 2 - FIVE CENTS in Recess
Designer	James Earle Fraser
Years Minted	1913 to 1938
Weight	5 grams
Composition	75% copper, 25% nickel
Diameter	approx. 21.2 mm
Edge	Plain
Mints	Philadelphia - no mint mark Denver - D San Francisco - S
Mintage	Year 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 Philadelphia 29,857,186 20,664,463 20,986,220 63,497,466 51,424,019 32,086,314 60,868,000 63,093,000 10,663,000 35,715,000 21,620,000 35,565,100 44,693,000 37,981,000 23,411,000 36,446,000 22,849,000 0 20,213,003 58,264,000 118,997,000 79,480,000 0 Denver-D 4,156,000 3,912,000 7,569,000 13,333,000 9,910,000 8,362,000 8,006,000 9,418,000 0 0 5,258,000 4,450,000 5,638,000 5,730,000 6,436,000 8,370,000 0 0 7,480,000 12,092,000 24,814,000 17,826,000 7,020,000 San Francisco-S 1,209,000 3,470,000 1,505,000 11,860,000 4,193,000 4,882,000 7,521,000 9,689,000 1,557,000 6,142,000 1,437,000 6,256,000 970,000 3,430,000 6,936,000 7,754,000 5,435,000 1,200,000 0 10,300,000 14,930,000 5,635,000 0

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1937-D 3-legged Buffalo Nickel

Have you seen any three-legged buffalo lately?

Well on some of the 1937-D Buffalo Nickels, the poor buffalo is missing his right front leg.

It seems the guys at the mint were trying to repair a damaged die and inadvertently removed part of the buffalo's leg.

Many of these coins were already released out into circulation before the goof was noticed.

So keep your eye out for three-legged buffalo, they are valuable coins!

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