1917 Buffalo Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 51,424,029 made
- Mintage
- 51,424,029
- Metal
- 75% copper, 25% nickel
- Weight
- 5 g
- Diameter
- 21.2 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1917 Buffalo Nickel worth?
Age alone gives this coin a small premium, even worn. Sharp details and original surfaces push it higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1917 Buffalo Nickel rare?
- No. With 51 million made, it's one of the most common Buffalo Nickels.
- Is the 1917 Buffalo Nickel silver?
- No. It's 75% copper, 25% nickel. The only silver nickels are the 1942 to 1945 wartime coins with a large mint mark above Monticello.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1917 Buffalo Nickel?
- On the reverse, below the words FIVE CENTS. Philadelphia nickels have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1917 are scarcer?
- The 1921 at 10,663,000, the 1914 at 20,665,738, the 1915 at 20,987,270, plus 3 more. So the 1917 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1917 Buffalo Nickel coins were made?
- 51,424,029.
What to check on your 1917
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date on the obverse, on the raised shoulder below the portrait. Buffalo nickel dates were raised and wore away quickly, so many coins from this period are found with partial or missing dates.
- Judge the grade under good light. The tip of the bison's horn and the date are the key points. A "Full Horn" adds premium and a full, clear date is essential for Fine and above.
Look for a full horn tip on the bison and a clear date. A sharp strike and a full date matter more for value than almost anything else in this series.
The story of the 1917
Output at Philadelphia slipped to 51,424,029 in 1917, from 63 million the year before. In 1918 the figure was 32 million.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1917-S (4.2 million) and 1917-D (9.9 million).
Across Philadelphia's 22 Buffalo Nickel issues, the hardest to find is the 1921 with 10,663,000 made. The 1917 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1910s it's 22nd smallest of 24, between the 1918 (32 million) and the 1919 (61 million).
Type 1, Type 2 and the wearing date (1913 to 1917)
James Earle Fraser's Buffalo nickel was released in 1913. The first version, Type 1, showed the bison standing on a raised mound with FIVE CENTS on it. The words wore away quickly, so later in 1913 the Mint lowered the ground into a flat line with the denomination below it, creating Type 2. The 1913-S Type 2 is a key date with only 1.2 million made.
The raised date on the obverse also wore quickly, so many coins from this era have partial or missing dates. Other notable coins include the 1914/3 overdate, the 1914-D and 1915-S semi-keys and the rare 1916 doubled die obverse. Matte proofs were struck from 1913 to 1916. Survivors from Denver and San Francisco often show weak strikes on the horn and the bison's head.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1917
The Standing Liberty quarter was redesigned to cover Liberty with chain mail. The mint mark on the Walking Liberty half dollar moved from the obverse to the reverse.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows a Native American man facing right, with LIBERTY near the rim and the date on his shoulder. The reverse shows an American bison standing on a raised mound in early 1913 and on flat ground afterwards, with FIVE CENTS below. The mint mark is under FIVE CENTS. The raised date wears quickly, which is why many Buffalo nickels have partial or missing dates.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Buffalo Nickel (1913–1938) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 51,424,029 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James Earle Fraser |
Other 1917 Buffalo Nickel issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 Buffalo Nickel | 51,424,029 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1917-D Buffalo Nickel | 9,910,800 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1917-S Buffalo Nickel | 4,193,000 | Circulation strike | – |
Mintage: United States nickel mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.