1926-S Buffalo Nickel

Specifications

Denomination: 5 cents
Series: Buffalo (Indian Head) nickel — Type 2
Designer: James Earle Fraser
Years of issue: 1926
Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel
Weight: 5 g
Diameter: 21.2 mm
Edge: Plain
Mintage: 970000
Key mintages: 970,000 struck — the lowest regular-issue mintage in the Buffalo nickel series and the only one below one million; the business-strike key date (Heritage Auctions).

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

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

970,000 struck at San Francisco — the lowest mintage of any regular-issue Buffalo nickel and the business-strike key date of the series.

History

With just 970,000 pieces struck, the 1926-S is the undisputed key to the Buffalo nickel series and the only regular-issue Buffalo nickel with a mintage below one million (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
Heritage has long acknowledged the 1926-S as the business-strike key date of the Buffalo nickel series (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
The issue is also a strike rarity: worn reverse dies were common and a weak bison head and shoulder are typical of the date, so sharply struck examples are especially prized (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
Designed by James Earle Fraser, the Buffalo nickel was struck from 1913 to 1938; the 1926-S carries the standard Type 2 reverse with FIVE CENTS recessed below the ground line (Wikipedia: Buffalo nickel, accessed 2026-09-16).

1926-S (San Francisco, S mintmark) — mintage 970,000, the business-strike key date and the series-low regular-issue mintage (Heritage Auctions).

No published diagnostics found in consulted references — certification recommended.
Strike note: worn reverse dies are common on this issue and a weak bison head and shoulder are typical; a sharply struck 1926-S is the exception, not the rule (Heritage Auctions).
No freely licensed date-specific photograph of a 1926-S nickel was located in consulted references; an illustration will be used rather than a copyrighted auction or grading-service image.