1913-S Type 2 Buffalo Nickel

Specifications

Denomination: 5 cents
Series: Buffalo (Indian Head) nickel — Type 2
Designer: James Earle Fraser
Years of issue: 1913
Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel
Weight: 5 g
Diameter: 21.2 mm
Edge: Plain
Mintage: 1209000
Key mintages: 1,209,000 struck (Heritage Auctions). A major semi-key of the Buffalo nickel series.

Melt value: $0.05copper $0.44/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of a genuine coin.

1,209,000 struck at San Francisco — the first-year Type 2 Buffalo nickel, a major semi-key of the series.

History

James Earle Fraser’s Buffalo (Indian Head) nickel replaced the Liberty Head nickel in 1913 as part of the early-20th-century movement toward more artistic American coinage (coins-auctioned.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
The original 1913 reverse (Type 1) shows the bison on a pronounced raised mound with FIVE CENTS inscribed on the mound; the revised Type 2 places the denomination in a recessed area below a straighter ground line, protecting the lettering from wear (CoinHub; PCGS via CoinHub; scvhistory.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
The Type 1/Type 2 difference is a regular design revision, not a mint error — the revised design was a deliberate response to the denomination wearing away on the raised mound (CoinHub, accessed 2026-09-16).
Heritage describes the 1913-S Type 2 as a major (semi-)key of the Buffalo nickel series and notes that examples frequently show die erosion with typical softness at LIBERTY and the bison’s forehead (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
A one-year-type note: the raised-mound Type 1 reverse was used only in 1913, while the Type 2 reverse continued through the rest of the series (CoinHub; scvhistory.com, accessed 2026-09-16).

1913-S Type 2 (San Francisco, S mintmark) — mintage 1,209,000, the closest thing to a key date among the first-year Buffalo nickels and a major semi-key (Heritage Auctions).
1913-S Type 1 (mound type, mintage 2,105,000) is the companion first-year San Francisco issue; identify the reverse type before pricing, since type and mintmark together determine the issue (Numismatic News).

No published diagnostics found in consulted references — certification recommended.
Type identification: confirm the reverse first — Type 2 shows FIVE CENTS in a recessed space below a straighter ground line; a Type 1 (FIVE CENTS on the raised mound) is a different issue. The distinction is a design change, not an error (CoinHub; PCGS).
Strike note: typical softness at LIBERTY and the bison’s forehead is characteristic of the issue; frequent die erosion is reported on surviving examples (Heritage Auctions).
No freely licensed date- and type-specific photograph of a 1913-S Type 2 nickel was located in consulted references; an illustration will be used rather than a mismatched type or copyrighted image.