Last Updated on July 4, 2022
The 1926 Nickel is worth quite a huge amount of money, due to its scarcity. The history surrounding it, most history gurus claim that the coins were minted around the time the first world war took place and it is considered a national treasure.
The 1926 Nickel has a very unique design featuring an Indian head and a Buffalo’s head. The designer of these engravings is Sir James Earle Fraser, the coin has a very high valuation because of its engraving and history, so you might want to hold on to them as a future investment or save them.
The 1926 Buffalo Nickel is one of the most highly valued coins in American history although you might not be able to exchange it for as high as its normal value. The price usually varies based on the collector. But the selling prices are usually close to its original value.
In this guide, you’ll find a detailed valuation of your 1926 Buffalo Nickel;
The 1926 Buffalo Nickel is worth $1.42 in good condition, $11 in Extremely Fine condition, and $36 in Uncirculated Condition.
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How much is a 1926 Nickel worth?
A 1926 Nickel’s value is highly dependent on its mint condition, however, since it was minted in three places, the location it was minted also matters due to the circulation factor. Below is a detailed valuation of the 1926 Nickel;
| Coin Variation | Good | Very Good | Fine | Very Fine | Extremely Fine | About Uncirculated | Uncirculated | Brilliant Uncirculated |
| 1926 Buffalo Nickel | $1.42 | $2.00 | $2.81 | $5.70 | $11.00 | $23.00 | $36.00 | $83.00 |
| 1926 D Buffalo Nickel | $11.00 | $20.00 | $31.00 | $121.00 | $205.00 | $343.00 | $399.00 | $533.00 |
| 1926 S Buffalo Nickel | $24.00 | $51.00 | $112.00 | $427.00 | $1028.00 | $3026.00 | $5128.00 | $10502.00 |
The melt value of the 1926 Buffalo Nickel is $0.07 because it lacks precious metals such as gold and comprises mostly Copper, it has a mass of 5 grams.
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History of the 1926 Buffalo Nickel
The 1926 Nickel is one of the most valued coins in history, with a very high numismatic value, it was minted with silver and designed by James Earle Fraser, it is also popularly cited as the 1926 Buffalo Nickel or the 1926 Indian head Nickel.
The 1926 Nickel was created when the US government was trying to make coins look more beautiful, James Earle Fraser’s design was approved because of the Symbolism of the American Bull and an Indian head.
Although, after 25 years the government stopped minting the coins because President Roosevelt was unhappy with the initial designs, the coins became very scarce after this period leading to a very high numismatic value.
While these coins have a face value of five cents, they can be sold for as much as ten thousand dollars today. Although, the melt value is quite low because its major metallic composition is copper.
However, there were lots of issues with thieves and petty bandits because the coin had a very close resemblance to the five-dollar coin, and most con artists would use the coins at the rate of five dollars.
Eventually, new changes were made to the design, and the word CENT was engraved on the obverse side of the coin. According to historical reports, the new coins were in higher demand and circulation than the previous ones. Although the first version has a higher numismatic value than the latter version because of its low circulation rate.
It is commonly known as the 1926 Buffalo Nickel due to the image of a Buffalo engraved on it, the coins were produced on a large scale in three locations namely San Francisco, Denver, and Philadelphia.
Over 43 million copies of these coins were produced, although the larger part of these coins was created in Philadelphia, the coins produced in Philadelphia have the lowest value due to their high circulation.
Where is the 1926 Buffalo Nickels mintmark located?
To know the location your coin was minted in you can check below the five cents engraving on the coin. The San Francisco coins and the coins minted in Denver usually have a mintmark of S and D respectively, below the Five cents engraving on the coin. However, coins minted in Philadelphia have no mint mark.
How do I know if my Buffalo Nickel is valuable?
The 1926 Buffalo Nickel is one of the most valuable US mint coins with the price of the coins created in San Francisco scaling up to as high as $10000 or more depending on how extremely brilliant the mint condition is.
To check the valuation of your Buffalo Nickel you can check below the five cents engraving on your coin for an alphabet. An S means it was created in San Francisco, a D means it was engraved in Denver, and no mintmark means it was graded in Philadelphia.
The mint condition of the coin also affects its valuation. However, the melt value of all 1927 Buffalo Nickels is $0.07.
