1937 Buffalo Nickel

Buffalo nickels also known as Indian head nickels, were minted from 1913 to 1938.  James Fraser designed the five cent piece with Indian head on obverse and a bison on the reverse.  The Native American profile featured on the Buffalo Nickel was actually a blending portrait of three Native Americans; a Sioux chief called Iron Tail, Two Moons a Cheyenne chief and Big Tree a Kiowa chief.

It was obvious that design changes were needed soon after the coin went into circulation.  A noticible high spot was appearing on the mound the buffalo stood upon.  On this mound was the inscription Five Cents.  Charles Barber was called upon to redesign the Indian Head nickel.  He removed the raised mound and lowered the profile of the inscription so that premature wear would not be so evident.

The Five Cents wear issue was resolved but the relief and placement of the date was never addressed.  The date on the obverse of the coin was a major point of wear.  Finding buffalo nickels with no legible date is not uncommon.  In fact, it is more uncommon to find a piece with a good date.

Speaking of dates, the 1937 Buffalo Nickel is the most popular and one of the most valuable key dates.  The fuel of this popularity is a die minting error.  The designers were removing a few undesirable marks from the die when they inadvertantly ground off the buffalo's leg.  We will talk later about the estimated value of the 1937 Buffalo Nickel aka 1937-D Indian Head Nickel aka 1937-D 3 Legged Buffalo Nickel.