The quintessential American coin, the Buffalo or “Indian Head” nickel remains one of the most popular in all of numismatics.

Designed by the renowned American sculptor, James Earle Fraser, the moniker “Buffalo Nickel” is, of course, technically incorrect.

The actual animal depicted on the reverse is the American Bison and Fraser modeled it after “Black Diamond” who was a resident of the Central Park Zoo in New York City.

The obverse is a compilation of three different studies of Native American chiefs who were aging relics of a bi-gone era at the time. The three were Two Moons, John Big Tree and Iron Tail (one of Custer’s opponents at the Little Big Horn). Thus the image cannot be attributed to any one tribe but is nevertheless a relatively accurate depiction of Native American features.

Minted for 25 years from 1913 until 1938, few coins display a more classic American image.

The piece at hand is from the last year when the design was changed to the Jefferson motif, where it has remained since, with minor variations. Even though this date is the single most available of the series in high-grade, this fabulous gem is distinctly uncommon in its ultimate state of preservation. Further, it boasts the NGC star, indicating unusual eye-appeal for the grade along with attractive toning and overall luster.

This gem-quality famous nickel belongs in the finest of collections and will prove to be a storehouse of value for future generations and is arguably in the running for the finest of all MS68 survivors!

Current Populations: MS68: 23 coins (8 PCGS & 15 NGC), with NONE higher.

Call Us for Information on this coin and/or other Classic Rarities - 302-765-3352

Call Us for Information on this coin and/or other Classic Rarities - 302-765-3352

Presumably as part of their efforts it was decided to economize on the creation of coin dies, so rather than creating entirely new dies, leftovers from the previous year were over-punched with the new date.

As a result numismatists have two “overdate” coins to collect from this year: the 1918/17 nickel from the Denver mint and the 1918/17 quarter from the San Francisco mint. It is unclear as to why these are the only two known attempts and why they were made at different facilities.

Regardless, very few of either remain today in mint state grades and this particular 5-cent piece ranks well within the top 100 of survivors.

According to the population reports of the two major services, 6 coins are graded in gem MS65 condition with none higher. Hence, this extremely Premium Quality MS62 represents fantastic value considering that one of the MS65 coins traded for over $350,000 in 2006.

The CAC sticker attached underscores its originality and overall appeal.

Designed by the renowned American sculptor, James Earle Fraser, this famous nickel belongs in the finest of collections and will prove to be a storehouse of value for future generations.

Call Us for Information on this coin and/or other Classic Rarities - 302-765-3352

Call Us for Information on this coin and/or other Classic Rarities - 302-765-3352

Call Us for Information on this coin and/or other Classic Rarities - 302-765-3352