1915-S Buffalo Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,505,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,505,000
- 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 1915-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 1915-S Buffalo Nickel rare?
- Somewhat. 1,505,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1915-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 1915 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 1915 are scarcer?
- The 1913-S (Type 2, flat on reverse, Key date) at 1,209,000. So the 1915-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1915-S Buffalo Nickel coins were made?
- 1,505,000.
What to check on your 1915-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 1915-D (7.6 million made).
- Check the date on the obverse, on the raised shoulder below the portrait. Buffalo nickel dates were raised and wore away quickly, so many coins from this period are found with partial or missing dates.
- 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 1915-S
Output at San Francisco slipped to 1,505,000 in 1915, from 3.5 million the year before. In 1916 the figure was 12 million.
The other mints made far more that year: 1915 alone came to 21 million, roughly 14 for every 1915-S. If you're checking a pile of 1915 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1921-S (1,557,000) and the 1924-S (1,437,000).
Across San Francisco's 22 Buffalo Nickel issues, the hardest to find is the 1926-S with 970,000 made. The 1915-S is on the scarcer side of the middle. Among the 1910s issues, only the 1913-S (Type 2, flat on reverse, Key date) had a smaller run.
Type 1, Type 2 and the wearing date (1913 to 1917)
James Earle Fraser's Buffalo nickel was released in 1913. The first version, Type 1, showed the bison standing on a raised mound with FIVE CENTS on it. The words wore away quickly, so later in 1913 the Mint lowered the ground into a flat line with the denomination below it, creating Type 2. The 1913-S Type 2 is a key date with only 1.2 million made.
The raised date on the obverse also wore quickly, so many coins from this era have partial or missing dates. Other notable coins include the 1914/3 overdate, the 1914-D and 1915-S semi-keys and the rare 1916 doubled die obverse. Matte proofs were struck from 1913 to 1916. Survivors from Denver and San Francisco often show weak strikes on the horn and the bison's head.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1915
San Francisco hosted the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, for which the Mint struck commemorative coins including $50 gold pieces.
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 | 1915 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,505,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James Earle Fraser |
Other 1915 Buffalo Nickel issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 Buffalo Nickel | 20,987,270 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1915-D Buffalo Nickel | 7,569,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1915-S Buffalo Nickel | 1,505,000 | 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.