1917-S Buffalo Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 4,193,000 made
- Mintage
- 4,193,000
- 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 1917-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 die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1917-S Buffalo Nickel rare?
- Not by date: 4.2 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1917-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 1917 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 1917 are scarcer?
- The 1913-S (Type 2, flat on reverse, Key date) at 1,209,000, the 1915-S at 1,505,000, the 1921-S at 1,557,000, plus 2 more. So the 1917-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1917-S Buffalo Nickel coins were made?
- 4,193,000.
What to check on your 1917-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 1917-D (9.9 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 1917-S
Output at San Francisco slipped to 4,193,000 in 1917, from 12 million the year before. In 1918 the figure was 4.9 million.
The other mints made far more that year: 1917 alone came to 51 million, roughly 12 for every 1917-S. That makes the 1917-S the scarcer 1917 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 1917-S is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1910s it's 7th smallest of 24, between the 1913-D (Type 2, flat on reverse) (4.2 million) and the 1918-S (4.9 million).
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 1917
The Standing Liberty quarter was redesigned to cover Liberty with chain mail. The mint mark on the Walking Liberty half dollar moved from the obverse to the reverse.
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 | 1917 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 4,193,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James Earle Fraser |
Other 1917 Buffalo Nickel issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 Buffalo Nickel | 51,424,029 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1917-D Buffalo Nickel | 9,910,800 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1917-S Buffalo Nickel | 4,193,000 | 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.