Buffalo Nickels Worth is an independent reference focused on Buffalo nickels — written for owners trying to determine the value of coins from the complete 1913–1938 series, sourced from PCGS and NGC certified market data, mintage records, and recent realized prices, not guesswork.
Who We Are
One of us inherited a box of old nickels and spent three weekends trying to find a single source that actually explained which Buffalo nickel dates were valuable and which were common face-value coins. The guides we found either buried the answers in forum threads or quoted inflated prices that bore no relation to what coins were selling for at auction. We decided to build the reference we needed — one that separates the common dates from the genuinely scarce ones, and shows what the market is actually paying for certified examples. Buffalo Nickels Worth exists to answer the most practical questions: What date do I have? Is it worth checking further? What should I expect to find if I hunt through a roll? We focus on the complete Buffalo nickel series because the design matters, the mintage story matters, and the certified price progression matters — all of it shapes what your coin is worth.
Methodology
Values come from four primary sources: the PCGS Price Guide, the NGC Price Guide, Greysheet/CDN bid sheets for wholesale market reference, and realized prices from Heritage Auctions, Stack's Bowers, and GreatCollections over the past 24 months. We cross-reference these sources to flag disagreements — when PCGS and NGC differ on a particular date and grade, we document both and explain the gap. For the Buffalo nickel series specifically, we consult the Lincoln Cent Resource (which tracks mintage and design variants) and PCGS CoinFacts to verify date-specific rarity and authentication markers. We do not publish a value until it appears consistently across at least two independent sources or is anchored to a recent certified sale. We update the value tables quarterly when Greysheet releases revised bid sheets, and we flag immediately when a Heritage signature sale includes Buffalo nickels that reset price records for a particular date or grade combination.
Our Standards
The Buffalo nickel series is a technical reference because value is driven by both date and grade — a common date in MS65 certified condition can sell for ten times its value in VF25. We document the certified price progression across the entire grading spectrum so you can match your coin to what it actually might sell for, not what it might be worth if it grades higher. We refuse to publish unverified clickbait valuations; the viral videos claiming a 1926-S is worth thousands without mention of grade or certification do real damage. We distinguish clearly between retail (what a dealer might ask) and wholesale (what a collector will pay at auction), typically a 60–75 percent spread. For any Buffalo nickel valued above $200, we explain the specific grade and authentication factors that drive the price — because condition and PCGS or NGC certification are everything at that level. We also note which dates are genuinely scarce (1926-S, certain P mintmarks from the 1920s) versus which are simply harder to find in high grade.
Disclosure
We do not buy, sell, or appraise coins — we are a reference, not a dealer; we do not accept paid placement for coin valuations or promotions by auction houses; we do not inflate value bands to suggest common Buffalo nickels are routinely worth thousands when the facts show most circulated examples trade near face value; we do not certify coins — that is the role of PCGS, NGC, or CACG, and we only reference their grades and auction records.
Contact
If you spot a pricing error or have a recent Heritage or Stack's Bowers sale for a Buffalo nickel that we should include, use the contact form on the site. We review pricing feedback after every major auction and update values accordingly.