1931-S Buffalo Nickel : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes ….
 

Nickel manufacturing on the San Francisco Mint fell to 1.2 million cash in 1931, marking the bottom output of the denomination since 1926 and the second lowest S-mint nickel mintage over the course of your complete collection.

That quantity might have been a lot decrease.

In January 1931, San Francisco produced 194,000 Buffalo Nickels – none had been produced at Denver or Philadelphia that month, and no nickels can be produced by any of the three department mints for months thereafter.

By November, appearing United States Mint Director Mary O’Reilly had grow to be alarmed on the ramifications of the low mintage determine at San Francisco and ordered Mint Superintendent M.J. Kelly to droop dime manufacturing and strike up further nickels via the steadiness of the calendar 12 months. Kelly complied, and the San Francisco Mint struck 1,006,000 nickels over the course of November and December.

Had the 194,000 mintage caught, it could have been the bottom nickel mintage since 1881, when the Philadelphia Mint struck 68,800 items. Because it occurs, the bottom S-Mint nickel mintage passed off in 1912, when 238,000 Liberty Head Nickels had been struck by the Granite Girl. In fact, in our tabulations, we omit the 1913 nickel – of which 5 Proofs had been struck with out authorization.

O’Reilly’s worries about hypothesis of the 1931-S nickel had been well-founded. Mint State examples of the 1931-S Buffalo Nickel have commanded a premium since shortly after their launch. Because the coin gathering growth took off within the Nineteen Sixties, the value marketed for BU examples had reached $45. By the mid-’70s, this value had practically doubled.

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Market Information and Noteworthy Specimens

Fashionable entrepreneurs usually name the 1931-S Buffalo Nickel a semi-key. We don’t assist that nomenclature. True, the coin sells for a powerful premium over the value of frequent dates. But by way of general shortage, the problem doesn’t crack the highest 20 in a collection that was solely produced for 25 years. It’s a dated coin, for certain, however not a semi-key.

Prime Inhabitants: PCGS MS67 (17, 11/2024), NGC MS67 (11, 11/2024), and CAC MS67 (6:1 stickered:graded, 11/2024).

• PCGS MS67 #29619452: Heritage, April 23, 2015, Lot 4954 – $28,200; “The Black Diamond Collections,” Heritage, January 10, 2019, Lot 4384 – $16,800; “The Yellowstone Assortment of Buffalo Nickels Graded by PCGS,” GreatCollections, December 22, 2024, Lot 1527580 – View.
• NGC MS67 #6964081-001: “The Neon Lights Assortment,” GreatCollections, July 14, 2024, Lot 1617381 – View. Yellow firming alongside rim.
• CACG MS67 #26850701: “The Neon Lights Assortment,” GreatCollections, April 21, 2024, Lot 1569825 – View. Yellow firming.
• PCGS MS67 #45990034: GreatCollections, December 31, 2023, Lot 1455219 – View. Yellow firming. Safe Defend holder.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #45908866: GreatCollections, October 29, 2023, Lot 1067502 – View. Yellow firming. Safe Defend holder.
• NGC MS67 #5865904-003: Heritage, July 14, 2022, Lot 3041 – $8,100; GreatCollections, September 24, 2023, Lot 1245264 – View. Yellow firming, particularly round rim.
• PCGS MS67 #47894456: GreatCollections, August 27, 2023, Lot 1121592 – View. Yellow firming, particularly round rim. Safe Defend holder.
• NGC MS67 #4834480-002: DLRC, April 10, 2022, Lot 8091 – $12,500.
• PCGS MS67 #38530371: Legend, Might 27, 2021, Lot 211 – $15,275. Safe Defend holder.
• PCGS MS67 #36638689: Legend, Might 16, 2019, Lot 211 – $18,212.50. Safe Defend holder.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #25790295: Legend, December 15, 2016, Lot 106 – $25,850. Safe Defend holder. “Angel Dee’s Toned Set” on insert.
• PCGS MS67 #81283756: Heritage, October 3, 2016, Lot 3056 – $21,737.50. Firming round rim.
• PCGS MS67 #25202261: Heritage, June 4, 2015, Lot 3827 – $29,492.50. Firming round rim.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #25043263: Heritage, April 25, 2013, Lot 4163 – $38,187.50.
• NGC MS67 #3051405-009: “The Brenda John Assortment,” Heritage, June 3, 2010, Lot 432 – $8,625. Golden bronze firming. Prime pop three, none finer at time of sale.
• PCGS MS67 #13087924: “The Joseph C. Thomas Assortment,” Heritage, April 30, 2009, Lot 2157 – $25,300. Some golden bronze firming.
• NGC MS67: Heritage, August 17, 1995, Lot 5881 – $2,200. Prime pop two, none finer at time of sale; PCGS high pop MS66 at time of sale.

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Design

Obverse:

The obverse of the 1931-S Buffalo or Indian Head Nickel options an outsized bust of a Native American warrior. Not like the later Sacagawea Greenback, this design was not primarily based on a single mannequin or historic determine. As a substitute, sculptor James Earle Fraser created a composite picture of three well-known males: Chief Iron Tail of the Sioux, Huge Tree of the Kiowa, and Two Moons of the Cheyenne. This composite effigy wears two feathers woven into his hair and a braid operating down the aspect of his head. The date 1931 is superimposed over the truncation of the bust, and the legend LIBERTY is off to the aspect at 2 o’clock on the rim.

Reverse:

The central motif on the reverse was supposedly primarily based on the buffalo named Black Diamond that lived on the New York Central Park Zoological Backyard. Normal varieties show all the animal’s 4 legs. The buffalo is standing on a small strip of land, under which is the denomination FIVE CENTS. Arcing above the animal’s again across the rim is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is squeezed between AMERICA and the animal’s again. As this sort was struck on the San Francisco Mint, the S mintmark on the backside of the design beneath the denomination.

Intriguingly, this design doesn’t embody the nationwide motto IN GOD WE TRUST. Based on numismatic researcher and CoinWeek contributor Roger Burdette, this was on account of Mint Director George Roberts informing Fraser that “the motto, ‘In God We Belief’, isn’t required upon this coin”.

Edge:

The sting of the 1931-S Indian Head (Buffalo) Nickel is obvious or clean, with out reeding or edge lettering.

Designer

An American sculptor, James Earle Fraser was lively throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Minnesota, Fraser attended the Artwork Institute of Chicago and displayed a few of his earliest paintings on the 1893 World’s Columbian and 1915 Panama Pacific expositions, together with his piece entitled Finish of the Path. A big portion of his work centered round Native American themes and is embodied in his 1913 Indian Head Nickel design.

1931-S Buffalo Nickel Coin Specs

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