Coin Blogger » buffalo nickels

American Buffalo Gold Coins

Coinblogger — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:37:24 +0000

American buffalo gold coins might be the most beautiful gold bullion coins in the world. American buffalo gold coins are .9999 24-karat gold coins. In fact, they are the only 24-carat gold coins ever produced by the United States Mint.

The American Buffalo Gold Coins don the design of James Earle Fraser’s buffalo nickel. The gold buffalo coin obverse design is a portrait of an American Indian. The reverse design is an American bison. James Earle Fraser’s buffalo nickel was first minted in 1913. Since then, it has been a favorite among coin collectors. In fact, it might be the most beloved coin design on a US coin.

American Buffalo Gold Coins Obverse

American Buffalo Gold Coins Reverse

The American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins were authorized by Congress in 2005 in the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. This is also the authorizing legislation for the Presidential $1 Dollar Series.

Another cool thing about the design of the 24-karat gold American Buffalo coin is that it is based off of the original 1913 buffalo nickel design. American coin collectors refer to this first buffalo nickel design as the raised mound Type 1 1913 buffalo nickel. This 1913 Type 1 buffalo nickel design was discontinued that same year because the date on the mound was wearing away quickly.

The United States Mint does not sell these American buffalo gold coins through the U.S. Mint website. Instead, the United States Mint sells them to gold bullion dealers who then sell to the public. These American Buffalo Gold Bullion coins are meant to be purchased for investment purposes for people wanting to buy gold bullion coins. However, many coin collectors believe that these gold bullion coins will also have numismatic value when the U.S. Mint discontinues producing them.

Collecting Buffalo Nickel Key Date Coins

Coinblogger — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:58:08 +0000

Yesterday, I wrote an article on the Top 10 Lowest Mintage Buffalo Nickels. In that article I described what buffalo nickels were produced in the lowest numbers between 1913 and 1938. In this article, I want to talk more about collecting buffalo nickel key date coins.

Coin collecting revolves around collecting key date coins. It is these key date coins that set the market for coin prices. For any collector of a certain series of coins, you must know the key date coins because these are going to be the most difficult coins to buy. Finding these rare coins can be difficult. And, collecting rare coins can involve big money.

For the buffalo nickel coin series there are 7 key date coins. Some coin collectors consider only the 1913-S Type II buffalo nickel to be a key date coin. But, I think that for most coin collectors, the semi-key date coins can also be included in the list of buffalo nickel key date coins.

List of Buffalo Nickel Key Date Coins

1913-S Type II buffalo nickel, mintage – 1,200,000

1926-S buffalo nickel, mintage – 4,200,000

1913-D Type II buffalo nickel, mintage – 4,200,000

1914-D buffalo nickel, mintage – 3,900,000

1915-S buffalo nickel, mintage – 1,500,000

1921-S buffalo nickel, mintage – 1,600,000

In addition to these buffalo nickel key date coins there are some buffalo nickel varieties that are also considered key date coins for buffalo nickel collections.

These key buffalo nickel varieties include the following,

1937-D 3-legged buffalo nickel

1936-D 3 1/2 legged buffalo nickel

1916-P double die obverse buffalo nickel

1918-D 8-over-7 buffalo nickel

If you would like to read more about buffalo nickels, Stella Coin News has the Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels book on its site. Another great book to read is The Authoritative Reference on Buffalo Nickels.

Here are some current auctions to buy key date buffalo nickels.

Top 10 Lowest Mintage Buffalo Nickels

Coinblogger — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:18:44 +0000

Knowing the mintage numbers for various coin types is not always the only thing to consider when looking for key date coins. However, the lower the number of coins minted in a year is the primary factor in whether a coin is a key date coin. Other factors include, the percentage of coins saved by collectors and the percentage of coins that have remained in high quality.

The Official Red Book a Guide Book of Buffalo and Jefferson Nickels:
Complete Source for History, Grading, and Values
(Official Red Books)

Here are the top 10 lowest mintage buffalo nickels:

Date Mintage

1. 1926-S Buffalo Nickel - 978,000

2. 1931-S Buffalo Nickel - 1,200,000

3. 1931-S Type 2 Buffalo Nickel - 1,209,000

4. 1924-S Buffalo Nickel - 1,437,000

5. 1915-S Buffalo Nickel - 1,505,000

6. 1921-S Buffalo Nickel - 1,557,000

7. 1913-S Type 1 Buffalo Nickel - 2,105,000

8. 1927-S Buffalo Nickel - 3,430,000

9. 1914-S Buffalo Nickel - 3,470,000

10. 1914-D Buffalo Nickel - 3,912,000

Based on mintage numbers alone these would be considered key date buffalo nickels.

If you want to specialize in collecting buffalo nickels or just learn more about them, I highly recommend these books,

I will do another post about what truly are the key date buffalo nickels taking into account factors other than mintage numbers. In the meantime, check out these articles on key date coins.

First Jefferson Nickel – Big Decision!!

Coinblogger — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:00:19 +0000

It is time for me to decide which coin will be the first nickel that I buy for my U.S. nickel type set collection. I have agonized over the decision of starting with the Jefferson nickel or the buffalo nickel long enough. I have decided that I will focus first on the Jefferson nickels, but which one?

I like the idea of beginning my nickel collection with the 1938 nickel. 1938 is the first date that the Jefferson nickel was minted. Since this is the first year that the Jefferson nickel was minted, I believe that this is a good place to start my collection.

I originally thought about working backwards. Maybe starting with a 2008 jefferson nickel, then buying the 2005 Jefferson Ocean in View, etc. However, I think that my nickel type set collection needs to start the first Jefferson nickels, 1938.

How do you decide which coins to buy? What is your favorite Jefferson nickel? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

If you would like to read my other articles about my U.S. Nickel type set collection, here are the other articles in this series.

U.S. Nickel Type Set

Coinblogger — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:21:05 +0000

As I mentioned in one of my last articles, my first coin collection that I begin on Coin Blogger will be a U.S. nickel type set collection. I am getting really psyched as I plan out my collection. This article will describe the U.S. coins that make up the U.S. nickel type set.

A U.S. nickel type set collection is comprised of 14 types of us nickel coins. The 14 types of U.S. nickel type set coints are as follows:

1866 – 1867 Shield With Rays
1867 – 1883 Shield Without Rays
1883 Liberty Head Without CENTS
1883 – 1913 Liberty Head with CENTS
1913 Buffalo Type I
1913 – 1938 Buffalo Type II
1938 – 1965 Jefferson, regular alloy, without initials
1942 – 1945 Jefferson, silver alloy
1966 – 2003 Jefferson, regular alloy, with designer’s initials (FS)
2004 Jefferson Keelboat
2004 Jefferson Indian Peace Medal
2005 Jefferson Bison
2005 Jefferson Ocean in View
2006 New Jefferson portrait, with restyled Monticello on the reverse

I am looking forward to starting my U.S. nickel type set. In a follow up post, I will discuss which of these US coins will be my first coin that I purchase. So, if you are interested in my us nickel coin collection, please subscribe to my us coin blog.

US Nickel Type Set Collection

Coinblogger — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:06:46 +0000

As I begin writing about collecting coins, I thought that it would be fun to start a U.S. type set collection here on Coin Blogger. I have decided to start my U.S. type set coin collection with a nickel type set collection.

1913 Buffalo Nickel Obverse

I thought that this would be a fun way to kick off this blog, but it took me a while to decide which type of coin to start collecting first. But, after reading a ton of information about the different coin types, I decided that my first type set would be a nickel type set collection.

Why did I decide on collecting a U.S. nickel type set collection?

I have been reading a ton of books about coin collecting. In doing my research, I have been drawn to James Earle Fraser’s buffalo nickel coin. I don’t think that I am alone in my love of the Fraser buffalo nickel design. It is a favorite among coin collectors.

Another factor in my choice of collecting a U.S. nickel type set is price. I would love to be able to afford a U.S. gold coin or U.S. silver dollar type set collection, but unfortunately my budget won’t allow it. On the other hand, a nickel type set collection is much more affordable.

So, I hope that you will enjoy my journey of collecting a nickel type set. For those nusimatists out there that would like to provide me with some advice as I begin my collection, please leave your advice in the comments below. Additionally, you can contact me on my contact form above.

Coin Blogger » buffalo nickels

American Buffalo Gold Coins

Collecting Buffalo Nickel Key Date Coins

Top 10 Lowest Mintage Buffalo Nickels

First Jefferson Nickel – Big Decision!!

US Nickel Type Set Collection

U.S. Nickel Type Set

1950-D Jefferson Nickel – A Key Date?

U.S. Nickel Type Set

US Nickel Type Set Collection