The first series of buffalo nickels also had this problem but it was the word “five cents” that wore off. The source of this problem was that the value was placed on a raised area just below the bison on the tail side of the coin. This was seen and corrected within the first year of its minting by the chief engraver Charles E. Barber. But there was an oversight and the date was not corrected to prevent the same problematic wear.

 The dateless nickels were mostly made before 1926. The minting of the buffalo nickel began in 1913 and ended in 1938. Most of these coins were removed from circulation in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is said that 1 in 25,000 nickels in circulation today is still a buffalo nickel.

For coin collecting purposes, the dateless buffalo coin is not worth more than 5 to 20 cents, because of the condition of the coins. If you own a dateless nickel, an experiment can be done to verify if what you have is an authentic dateless buffalo coin. By placing a drop of ferric chloride or other weak acid on the dated area, the date may be revealed. In many coin collecting stores it goes by the trade name of “Nic-a-Date”. After this is used, most coin collectors consider the coin valueless because of the modification that was done to the coin.

But if you own dateless Buffalo Nickels, the choice is yours. The difference between 5 cents and no cents is not enough to worry about.

One of my dreams is to travel across the United States following the footsteps of Lewis and Clark.  Few things are as American as exploring unknown lands.  The Westward Journey nickels celebrates the exploration of the Louisana Purchase Land.

The Westward Journey Nicke Series is comprised of four US nickels – the 2004-P nickel, 2004-D nickel, 2005-P nickel and 2005-D nickel.  Additionally, after 2005 the design of the 2006 nickel to the present has a different obverse than the pre-2004 nickels.

2004 Louisiana Purchase Peace Nickel

2004 Nickel

The 2004 Louisiana Purchase Peace nickel bears the image of the original Lewis and Clark Indian Peace Medal commissioned for Lewis and Clark.  This Peace Nickel is my second favorite design.  While being a simple design, I love the history behind this design.

The Indian Peace Medal symbolizes the desire of peace between the Indians and the US Government.

2004 Keelboat Nickel

2004 Keelboat Nickel

The second coin in the Westward Journey Nickel Series is the 2004 Keelboat nickel.  This coin depicts the keelboat that Lewis and Clark used to navigate some of the rivers of the Louisiana Purchase.

2005 Bison Nickel

2005 Bison Nickel

The third coin was the 2005 American Bison Nickel.  This is my favorite coin in the series.  The bufallo will always be a symbol of the United States and the West.  I love that it would used in this US coin series.

2005 Ocean In View Nickel

2005 Ocean In View Nickel

The last coin in the Westward Journey Nickel Series was the 2005 Ocean In View Nickel.  This is a great image.  Can you imagine the excitement of Captain Clark when he wrote in his journal that he has made it to the Pacific Ocean?

I really think that the US Mint did a great job with this Westward Journey Nickel Serie.  What is your favorite nickel of this series?