1937-S Buffalo Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 5,635,000 made
- Mintage
- 5,635,000
- 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 1937-S 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 known variety for the date: 1937-D Three-Legged Buffalo Nickel
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1937-S Buffalo Nickel rare?
- Not by date: 5.6 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1937-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 1937 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.
- How many 1937-S Buffalo Nickel coins were made?
- 5,635,000.
What to check on your 1937-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1937-D (18 million made).
- Look for the 1937-D Three-Legged Buffalo Nickel (it's on Denver coins, not this one).
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1937 Buffalo Nickel Proof (5,769 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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. With 5,635,000 made, you can still find a 1937-S in rolls, old jars and inherited collections. The coins worth keeping are the uncirculated ones and any with a doubled die or other variety.
The story of the 1937-S
Output at San Francisco slipped to 5,635,000 in 1937, from 15 million the year before. It turned out to be San Francisco's last Buffalo Nickel for circulation.
The other mints made far more that year: 1937 alone came to 79 million, roughly 14 for every 1937-S. That makes the 1937-S the scarcer 1937 coin, though still a common one.
Across San Francisco's 22 Buffalo Nickel issues, the hardest to find is the 1926-S with 970,000 made. The 1937-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1930s it's 3rd smallest of 15, between the 1930-S (5.4 million) and the 1938-D (7 million).
Depression gap, record output and the legless bison (1932 to 1938)
No nickels were made in 1932 or 1933. Production resumed in 1934 and climbed to a series high of 119 million at Philadelphia in 1936. Proofs returned in 1936 and 1937, first with satin and then brilliant finishes. The 1935 has a doubled die reverse.
Two famous varieties come from Denver. In 1936 a die was polished so heavily that the bison has three and a half legs. In 1937 a similar polishing removed the front leg entirely, creating the 1937-D three-legged nickel, one of the most popular varieties. In 1938 only Denver struck Buffalo nickels before the Jefferson nickel replaced it. Some 1938-D coins show a D over S mint mark. These later dates are common and often well struck.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1937
Denver produced the famous "three-legged" Buffalo nickel after a worker polished a damaged die too heavily, removing the bison's front leg.
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 | 1937 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 5,635,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James Earle Fraser |
Other 1937 Buffalo Nickel issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 Buffalo Nickel | 79,480,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1937 Buffalo Nickel Proof | 5,769 | Proof | – |
| 1937-D Buffalo Nickel | 17,826,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1937-S Buffalo Nickel | 5,635,000 | 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.