1921-S Buffalo Nickel

Specifications

Denomination: 5c
Series: Buffalo nickel (1913-1938)
Designer: James Earle Fraser
Years of issue: 1921
Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel
Weight: 5 g
Diameter: 21.2 mm
Edge: Plain
Mintage: 1557000
Key mintages: 1,557,000 (Heritage Auctions; PCGS) — verified. PCGS est. 8,500 survivors all grades.

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

Smithsonian National Numismatic Collection (photograph by Jaclyn Nash), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1,557,000 struck, ~8,500 survive — the early San Francisco Buffalo semi-key.

History

A post-World War I recession reduced the need for circulating coinage, and the branch mints were busy striking silver dollars at the expense of minor denominations — so 1921 Buffalo nickel output was anemic (PCGS; accessed 2026-09-16)
It was one of just two Buffalo issues in 1921: Philadelphia struck a little more than 10.6 million while San Francisco struck a mere 1,557,000 (PCGS; accessed 2026-09-16)
Early-1920s collectors mostly saved Philadelphia ‘Mother Mint’ coinage, so branch-mint issues like the 1921-S were rarely put away in uncirculated grades — PCGS estimates only 8,500 survivors across all grades today (PCGS; accessed 2026-09-16)
Heritage calls it one of the rarest dates in the Buffalo nickel series, difficult in grades any higher than VF (Heritage Auctions; accessed 2026-09-16)
The issue was struck under hurried conditions with noticeable die flow, so even certified survivors tend to be softly struck (Heritage Auctions; accessed 2026-09-16)

Key dates and varieties

Key/semi-key date: 1,557,000 struck at San Francisco — about a seventh of Philadelphia’s 1921 output (ANA Reading Room; accessed 2026-09-16)
PCGS survival estimate: only 8,500 across all grades from that mintage (PCGS; accessed 2026-09-16)
Collectors can expect to pay at least $1,000 for an About Uncirculated example and several thousand for Mint State (ANA Reading Room; accessed 2026-09-16)

Specifications

composition
designers
diameter
edge
mint
weight

Certified populations: PCGS Pop 263 in F-15 with 1,382 graded higher; PCGS Pop 72 in NGC XF-40 data cited as 72/460 (APMEX CoinGrade+ PCGS/NGC sync)

Collector notes

Added-mintmark alert: NGC has encountered 1921-S coins built from genuine Philadelphia pieces with a glued or embossed ‘S’ — a genuine mintmark has the correct sharp shape, while fakes show glue discoloration, a seam on the bottom, or a too-rounded, too-fat letter; always examine the mintmark area closely (ANA Reading Room; accessed 2026-09-16)
Strike is the value driver: weak strikes are common, especially on the bison’s horn and the braid of the Native American portrait — fully struck examples with little wear command strong premiums over typical soft coins (Money Metals; accessed 2026-09-16)
Many coins offered as VF–AU lack a complete horn due to weak strikes and worn dies, so grade on wear, not softness of strike (Numismatic News / David Lange; accessed 2026-09-16)