Type: Buffalo Nickel Year: 1926 Mint Mark: S Face Value: 0.05 USD Total Produced: 970,000 Silver Content: 0% Numismatic Value: $17 to $7600.00 Value: As a rough estimate of this coins value you can assume this coin in average condition will be valued at somewhere around $17, while one in certified mint state (MS+) condition could bring as much as $7,600 at auction.
- The 1926-D Buffalo nickel with its mintage of 5,638,000 pieces is a scarce semi-key coin in all grades and certainly so in uncirculated condition, in which fewer than 300 are estimated to have survived. There are handful in MS66 and a couple or so rare pieces in MS67, and examples in both grades inspire fervent bidding by registry set holders.
- Never use chemicals on the surface of your nickels to restore partial dates because partial-date Buffalo Nickels are worth more than totally dateless nickels. Depending on which digits are showing, the nickel can be worth anywhere from 50 cents (if the part showing is the first 2 or 3 digits) to about 20% of market value if the last 2 or 3.
The 1926-S Buffalo Nickel (Buy on eBay) has the lowest mintage of the series with 970,000 pieces struck for circulation. This issue is scarce in all grades, but especially so in About Uncirculated or Mint State grades.
Most uncirculated examples tend to be in the lower MS grades and are often weakly struck. Gem examples are ultra rare with perhaps a dozen pieces certified by PCGS and NGC after eliminating resubmissions. Finding a quality example with choice surfaces may require several years of intensive searching, as they are a major rarity within the series. An example graded PCGS MS65 sold for $80,500 at an auction held in April 2009.
Other San Francisco minted Buffalo Nickels which are scarce in high grades include the 1918, 1920, 1924, and 1927 coins.
Coin Specifications
- Designer: James Earle Fraser
- Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel
- Weight: 5 grams
- Diameter: 21.2 mm
- Edge: Plain
- Buffalo Nickels
1926 Buffalo Nickel Coin Value
Buffalo nickel values reflect the huge demand for this highly popular coin. Minted from 1913 through 1938, the Buffalo nickel has a particularly romantic lore attached to it, largely due to the fact that the coin has a rugged, all-American design, which was created by James Earle Fraser. The obverse of the Buffalo nickel, values of which range from $1 to thousands of dollars, features an image of a Native American that is considered to be the composition of several individuals, including Two Moons, Iron Tail, and Big Tree, according to accounts from Fraser.
On the reverse is the coin’s famous bison – commonly referred to as a buffalo. The model for the beastly figure on the reverse of the coin was Black Diamond, an American bison that resided at the Central Park Zoo. Some numismatic scholars theorize that the bison model may have actually been a herd leader at the Bronx Zoo named, appropriately, Bronx.
No matter who the models were for the Buffalo nickel, what is known is this – these coins are highly popular among collectors. Buffalo nickel values are usually $1 to $3 for common, worn specimens. However some Buffalo nickels, such as the 1913-D Type II, 1913-S Type II, 1914-D, 1915-D, 1921-S, 1926-S, and 1937-D 3-legged variety are quite rare. Values for these key-date Buffalo nickels reach into the thousands of dollars.
