United States 1913 5 cents KM-134
The Indian Head nickel superseded the Liberty Head nickel in 1913 as part of the general freshening of coinage designs started by Theodore Roosevelt. The first issues had the "FIVE CENTS" on a grassy mound on the reverse; this was revised mid-year to put the denomination under an exergue to prevent it from wearing off. This was never done to the date, however, and dealer junk boxes are filled with "dateless" buffalo nickels (the beast on the reverse is a bison, not a buffalo, but buffalo nickel is what it's called). Many dates, including the 1923-S, come poorly struck and lack detail in the Indian's hair and on the bison's pelt. This specimen was lot 2108 in Stack's Bowers March 2021 auction (Las Vegas, NV), where it sold for $2,160. The catalog description noted, "1913 Buffalo Nickel. Type II. Proof-65 (NGC). OH. A smartly impressed, fully defined Gem with a smooth satin texture to silver-gray surfaces. Just 1,514 Proofs were struck of this type in 1913, and this is the rarest Proof Buffalo nickel after only the 1916. Obviously most contemporary collectors acquired a Type I Proof nickel to mark the design's first year. Disenchantment with the satin finish of these coins further explains why comparatively few examples of the Type II were preserved."
Recorded mintage: 30,993,520 with the raised ground (KM 133) plus 29,858,700 with the recessed ground (shown here).
Specification: 5 g, copper-nickel, 21.2 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 133.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
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