Grading the Buffalo Nickel (Indian Head Nickel)

The Buffalo nickel (1913-1938) shows a Native American on one side and an American bison on the other. To grade it, look first at the bison's horn (it wears and strikes weakly), then the hair and cheekbone. The date sits on a high point and often wears completely away, so 'dateless' Buffalos are common. Watch out for the famous 1937-D 3-Legged and 1918/7-D, both heavily faked.

At a glance

Years	1913-1938
Designer	James Earle Fraser.
Denomination	Five cents
Specifications	Weight 5.00 g; diameter 21.2 mm; plain edge. (Spec figures are PCGS-consistent; browser-confirm before launch.)

Composition over time

Period	Composition
1913-1938	75% copper, 25% nickel

Major subtypes

Subtype	Years
Type 1 (raised mound)	1913
Type 2 (recessed FIVE CENTS)	1913-1938

Where wear shows first

Reverse: the bison's horn, the single most-watched grading element, plus head, shoulder, hip, and tail
Obverse: the Native American's cheekbone and hair (braid)

Common weak-strike areas

Date, the braid, and the bison's head/shoulder/tail; the horn is frequently incomplete even on Mint State coins
Denver and San Francisco coins of 1917-1927 are notoriously weakly struck

Common problems

'Dateless' coins: the date sits on a high point and wears away, producing very common dateless examples
Acid-restored dates (e.g., Nic-A-Date) leave an etched, damaged surface, treated as damage

Counterfeit & alteration risks

1937-D 3-Legged: created when a pressman over-polished clashed dies and removed the bison's front leg; faked by tooling the leg off a normal 1937-D, genuine pieces show a raised ridge under the belly and distress on the rear leg
1918/7-D overdate: the rarest issue; frequently faked via altered date and added 'D'. Genuine coins often show a die crack from the hair braid toward the jaw and a left-tilted mintmark

For the advanced grader

Separate weak strike from wear: many D and S coins of 1917-1927 are softly struck, so a flat horn is not always circulation wear. The series has no official strike designation. For the 1937-D 3-Legged, authenticate via the raised belly ridge and rear-leg distress (remnants of the abraded die); for the 1918/7-D, check the braid-to-jaw die crack and mintmark tilt. Buy key dates certified.

Photographic examples

Click any image to enlarge and zoom. Where shown, obverse, reverse, and edge views are of the same coin and year.

Same coin: 1913 Type 1 Buffalo nickel, graded NGC MS65

Sources: Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) · Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) · American Numismatic Association (ANA) · Coin World

Evidence pages