1931-S Buffalo Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,200,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,200,000
- 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 1931-S Buffalo Nickel worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1931-S Buffalo Nickel rare?
- Somewhat. 1,200,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1931-S 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 1931 Buffalo Nickel?
- On the reverse, below the words FIVE CENTS. Philadelphia nickels have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1931 are scarcer?
- The 1926-S at 970,000. So the 1931-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1931-S Buffalo Nickel coins were made?
- 1,200,000.
What to check on your 1931-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread.
- 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 1931-S
Production at San Francisco fell off a cliff in 1931. Only 1,200,000 were made, against 5.4 million the year before. That drop is why the 1931-S is the one people look for. After that, San Francisco didn't make another until 1935.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1931 you find is from San Francisco. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1913-S (Type 2, flat on reverse, Key date) (1,209,000) and the 1924-S (1,437,000).
Only the 1926-S has a lower mintage among San Francisco's 22 Buffalo Nickels. No Buffalo Nickel of the 1930s had a smaller run.
Branch mint keys and soft strikes (1922 to 1931)
No nickels were struck in 1922. Production resumed in 1923. San Francisco struck small numbers in several years, creating the 1923-S, 1924-S and 1926-S semi-keys. The 1926-S, at 970,000, is the lowest mintage regular issue of the series. Denver and San Francisco coins from these years are known for weak strikes, especially on the bison's head and the date.
The Depression cut demand in 1930 and 1931. In 1931 only San Francisco struck nickels, 1.2 million pieces. The coin was saved by many people at the time. Survivors from the 1920s are usually found with worn or missing dates. Coins with full horn detail carry a premium. Dateless Buffalo nickels from this era are often treated with acid to reveal the date.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1931
Coin production fell to some of the lowest levels of the century as the Depression deepened, creating key dates such as the 1931-S cent.
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 | 1931 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,200,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James Earle Fraser |
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.