1920 Buffalo Nickel is one of the most interesting coins minted in the 20th century. If you want to learn where it was struck, how to grade it, how much it is worth, what are many errors it was issued with, and other exciting info about it, please scroll down and keep reading!
1920 Buffalo Nickel Details
- Category: Buffalo Nickel (1313 – 1938)
- Edge: Plain
- Shape: Round
- Place of Minting: Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver
- Year of minting: 1920
- Face Value: Five cents ($0.05)
- Total Mintage: 82,200,300
- Obverse Designer: James B. Longacre
- Reverse Designer: James B. Longacre
- Composition: 75% copper and 25% nickel
- Weight: 0.176 ounces (5 g)
- Thickness: 0.077 inches (1.52 mm)
- Diameter: 0.8350 inches (21.21 mm)
On its obverse side, the 1920 Buffalo Nickel sports a Native American warrior’s head looking to the right, which is why this coin is also called an Indian head or Native American head nickel.
The warrior has long hair made into a braid on the side shown on the coin and two feathers in it. He wears a cloth of some sort, which, although visible on the bottom rim of the coin, is mostly covered by the minting date (1920).
Below the year of minting, you can see the letter F, representing the first letter of the surname of the man who designed this coin, James Earle Fraser.
However, many coins in circulation do not have the letter F anymore as it rubbed due to wear and tear. Moreover, a lot of those coins also do not have the date on them because they fell off for the same reason.
One more thing you can see on the head side of this coin is the inscription LIBERTY. It extends on the edge of the coin’s right rim, starting from the Indian warrior’s forehead and running along the rim to his nose.
The reverse of the 1920 Buffalo nickel is perhaps even more exciting because it features more details and lines.
The first interesting thing this side offers is a bison, even though this coin is called Buffalo Nickel. Bison live in North America and parts, while buffalos are indigenous to Asia and Africa.
Also, bison are larger, weigh more and have bigger heads than buffaloes. But they are also called American buffaloes, so it is not that big of a deal.
The animal, which is seen standing on a piece of ground, takes up almost the entire space on this side of the coin. Underneath the ground on which the bison is standing on the bottom of the rim is the inscription FIVE CENTS, which represents the denomination of the coin.
The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA inscription spreads from the left to the right of the upper rim.
Between the legend and the lower part of the bison’s back, you can see the expression E Pluribus Unum, which is Latin for “One of many”. There was not too much space for this detail, so a small font had to be used.
The obverse, but especially the reverse side of the 1920 Buffalo Nickel, is very textured and has many lines. Combined with the fact that the coin was in circulation for a long time, these two things contributed to the loss of the fine details.
Another thing that has been lost over time is the coin’s original silver gloss. Its composition remained the same during all 25 years of this coin’s existence since, during those years, it was produced by using three-quarters copper and one-quarter nickel.
The official weight is 0.176 ounces, but unless you own a coin in the mint edition, you will hardly have a coin of the same weight because, as we said, the letter F and the date are missing on most of them. 1920 Buffalo nickel’s thickness is 0.077 inches, while its diameter is 0.8350 inches.
Also Read: 15 Most Valuable Nickels Worth Money
1920 Buffalo Nickel Value Chart
Mint Mark | Good
(G 4) |
Fine
(F 12) |
Extremely Fine (EF 40) | Uncirculated (MS 60) | Mint State (MS 63) |
1920 No Mint Mark Buffalo Nickel | $1.72 | $3.31 | $17 | $75 | $163 |
1920 “D” Buffalo Nickel | $9.14 | $35 | $315 | $658 | $1,594 |
1920 “S” Buffalo Nickel | $5.15 | $30 | $218 | $632 | $1,983 |
1920 Buffalo Nickel Value And Varieties Guide
1920 Buffalo Nickel was struck at three different mints – Philadephia, San Francisco, and Denver. Let’s check out each of these issues and talk about the values each variety can be sold for.
1920 No Mint Mark Buffalo Nickel Value
- Type: Buffalo Nickel
- Edge: Plain
- Shape: Round
- Place of Minting: Philadelphia
- Mint Mark: No mint mark
- Year of minting: 1920
- Face Value: Five cents ($0.05)
- Price: $1.72 – $12,000 and more
- Quantity produced: 63,0930,000
- Designer: James B. Longacre
- Composition: 75% copper and 25% nickel
- Weight: 0.176 ounces (5 g)
- Thickness: 0.077 inches (1.52 mm)
- Diameter: 0.8350 inches (21.21 mm)
Most of the 1920 Buffalo Nickels, 63,093,000, were minted at the Main Mint in Philadelphia and featured no minting marks. If you own a 1920 Buffalo Nickel minted in Philadelphia in pristine condition, such as MS 67, you should know that its price exceeds $12,000.
However, a coin from this series that is in, for example, AU 58 condition, is worth just about $30.
1920 “D” Buffalo Nickel Value
- Type: Buffalo Nickel
- Edge: Plain
- Shape: Round
- Place of Minting: Denver
- Mint Mark: DD
- Year of minting: 1920
- Face Value: Five cents ($0.05)
- Price: $5.13 – $20,000 and more
- Quantity produced: 9,418,000
- Designer: James B. Longacre
- Composition: 75% copper and 25% nickel
- Weight: 0.176 ounces (5 g)
- Thickness: 0.077 inches (1.52 mm)
- Diameter: 0.8350 inches (21.21 mm)
Almost nine and a half million specimens of Buffalo Nickel were minted in Denver. The proof for this can be seen on the tail side since the coins feature the letter D just below the FIVE CENTS denomination. Unfortunately, not a lot of 1920 D Buffalo Nickels are in excellent condition.
Those that are, like MS 66 and 67, will go for then of thousands of dollars. There are many more coins that are not that valuable, such as ones in the Very Fine (VF) state. 1920 D Buffalo Nickel VF 35 will bring around $170.
1920 “S” Buffalo Nickel Value
- Type: Buffalo Nickel
- Edge: Plain
- Shape: Round
- Place of Minting: San Francisco
- Mint Mark: S
- Year of minting: 1920
- Face Value: Five cents ($0.05)
- Price: $9.13 – $44,000 and more
- Quantity produced: 9,689,000
- Designer: James B. Longacre
- Composition: 75% copper and 25% nickel
- Weight: 0.176 ounces (5 g)
- Thickness: 0.077 inches (1.52 mm)
- Diameter: 0.8350 inches (21.21 mm)
When it comes to the 1920 Buffalo Nickels coined in San Francisco, they have a similar mintage to the ones minted in Denver – 9,689,000. Depending on the condition, they can go for as much as $44,000 (MS 65) and as low as $115 (VF 30).
Also Read: Top 110 Most Valuable Nickels Worth Money
1920 Buffalo Nickel History
The Buffalo Nickel is the successor to the Liberty Head Nickel that was in circulation from 1883 to 1913. Liberty Head Nickel is also known as V nickel since the obverse side features the Roman number V, which is 5 in Arabic enumeration.
The decision to change the design of the Liberty Head nickel was just one in a series of changes made between 1907 and 1911 in order to beautify American coinage. The nickel was actually the sixth coin that would be redesigned as part of this plan.
One of the most prominent voices for the change in the design of the coins was the then-president of the US, Theodore Roosevelt.
Since 1908 marked 25 years during which the coin design could not be changed without congressional authorization, Mint Director Frank Leach was tasked with finding someone to design a new nickel look.
That decision fell to Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber, who envisioned the coin to have a portrait of the first president, George Washington. People got a hold of this news and already started to expect the coin’s release into circulation. It even got a nickname, Washington nickel.
However, that never came to be as Leach left his position at the mint, and the project was shut down. Leach was replaced by Abram Andrew, who was not satisfied with the design of the Lincoln cent and did not want the nickel featuring yet another portrait of a president.
Instead, he wanted to go with James Earle Fraser’s nickel design that had a Native American warrior on the obverse and an American buffalo on the reverse. After getting authorization from congress, his wish came true.
The initial Buffalo Nickels had the denomination on a raised portion of dirt beneath the buffalo on the back of the coin.
However, this design led to the denomination wearing off quickly. To remedy this, James Earl Fraser altered the design in the middle of 1913 by getting rid of most of the dirt and placing the denomination below it. This modification prevented the letters but also the mint mark from wearing off.
1920 and other Buffalo Nickels were in circulation until 1398 when they were swapped with Jefferson Nickles.
Also Read: Top 19 Most Valuable Jefferson Nickels Worth Money
1920 Buffalo Nickel Grading
Grading coins is a challenging task but is definitely worth the hassle as probably all coin enthusiasts want to know the worth of the coins they have on their hands, even if they do not want to sell them. If you want to learn how to grade Buffalo Nickels, check out this video!
1920 Buffalo Nickel Errors
1920 Buffalo Nickel is a coin that has issues with lots of errors, sometimes even double ones. Let’s go through all of them one by one.
1. 1920 Buffalo Nickel Struck 40% Off-Center On A 1c Planchet
Let’s start with a 2 in 1 special. This issue of the coin is not only 40% off-center but was also minted on the wrong planchet (one cent). It weighs around 0.07 ounces less than the one from the regular strike and has a smaller diameter.
The good thing about it is that it is expensive – a specimen with these errors in Mint State 64 Brown grade was sold for more than $12,000 in 2017.
2. 1920 Buffalo Nickel Reverse Cud Error
The Buffalo 5c tended to feature cud breaks due to how the design was struck onto the die. These sorts of errors would occur when some kind of a flaw on an already flawed die was transmitted onto one of the sides of the coin during production.
Dies used for this design wore out more quickly than others but were not replaced, leading to a high number of strange errors. A 1920 Buffalo Nickel with ungraded cud error can be sold for $65.
3. 1920 Buffalo Nickel Struck On A One-Cent Planchet And Reverse Lamination
After the 40% off-center and 1c planchet combo, here is another combo of errors – one cent planchet, but this time with reverse lamination.
You might think that small pieces of the coin are coming off the surface, but that is not what is happening here – lamination occurs when a foreign substance splits up the metals that are used to alloy a coin.
In the penny planchet, those metals were copper on one side and tin and zinc on the other. In About Uncirculated 55 Brown condition, a coin with these two errors was valued at almost $5,000.
4. 1920 Buffalo Nickel Obverse Lamination
The 1920 Buffalo Nickel featured a lot of errors, as you can see. Here we have yet another lamination but on the heads side.
However, this time a correct planchet was used, meaning the lamination and separation happened between nickel and copper. When it comes to the price of this exact coin, one in good condition, like G4, would sell for somewhere between $40 and $60.
5. 1920 Buffalo Nickel Struck 30% Off-Center
The second off-center mistake is a measly 30% this time. Still, “thanks” to this mistake, a big part of the bottom rim features, well, nothing.
However, as you already know, coin enthusiasts like these sorts of errors, so you can make good money by selling one in the almost uncirculated condition of grade 58, as it is worth more than a thousand dollars.
6. 1920 Buffalo Nickel Double Struck 80% Off-Center
This time around, we have an 80% off-center mistake, which only happens because the production process for Buffalo Nickels involves multiple strikes to transfer the design onto the coin fully.
Sometimes the blank coin shifts when the design is struck a few times, causing parts of it to overlap or twist the shape. In the proper condition, like AU 55, it can be sold for eight thousand dollars.
7. 1920 Buffalo Nickel D/D RPM
RPM, which stands for re-punched mint mark, refers to a mistake in which the mark of minting on a coin is stamped twice or even three times. Prior to 1989, mint marks were manually added to coins after the rest of the design was completed using machinery.
In case the person responsible for adding the mint mark moved their hand slightly, the succeeding mint marks were sometimes punched in somewhat different positions.
1920 Buffalo Nickel FAQ
How rare is a 1920 nickel?
The circulated specimens of 1920 Buffalo Nickel are not rare and can be found in large numbers even today. On the other hand, a 1920 Buffalo Nickel in uncirculated or Gem uncirculated grades is a rare find.
Where is the mint mark location on the 1920 Buffalo Nickel?
The mint mark (D, S) on the 1920 Buffalo Nickels is on the reverse side beneath the FIVE CENT denomination. Nickels minted in Philly do not have a mint mark.
What is a 1920 Buffalo nickel made out of?
1920 Buffalo Nickel is made of 75% copper and 25% nickel.