In this article, I’ll discuss the mintage, population, and the 1921 Buffalo Nickel value. Additionally, I’ll share some recommendations, based on your budget.
Reduced Production
As a result of the Pittman Act in 1918, the Treasury needed to replace 270 million silver dollars that were melted. This means that everyone was on overload. What did this mean for Buffalo Nickels? Reduced production. In fact, Denver wouldn’t even produce Buffalo Nickels in 1921.
Even beyond that, there would be no Buffalo Nickels produced in 1922 at all, as a result of so many efforts put forth towards replacing the silver dollars.
Mintage
Denver would not produce any nickels in 1921. Here is the mintage information for Philadelphia and San Diego.
- 1921 – Philadelphia mintage was 10,663,000
- 1921-S Marked with an “S”, San Diego mintage was 1,557,000
1921 Buffalo Nickel Value
The 1921-S Buffalo Nickel shows quite valuable, specifically for lower graded coins. Take a look at the chart below to get an idea of the how much the 1921 Buffalo Nickel is worth.
Recommendations
Let’s take a look at some of my recommendations. I have broken this down into three sections, differentiated by budget.
Low End Collector
For the low end collector, you may be hard pressed to get a decent coin because of the low mintage during 1921. But here are a couple of thoughts:
- MS60 1921 Buffalo Nickel if you can afford around $125.
- G4 1921-S Buffalo Nickel – Inexpensive way to get your hands on this coin. Not sure that I 100% recommend this though. I really like to see collectors with an MS60 or better in most cases.
Middle of the Road
For the mid-priced collector, I have a few choices for you:
- MS65 1921 Buffalo Nickel
- MS66 1921 Buffalo Nickel
- MS60 1921-S Buffalo Nickel
At the Top
High end collectors should take advantage of the low mintage, and the fact that Buffalo Nickels wouldn’t be produced again until 1923.
- MS67 1921 Buffalo Nickel
- MS66 1921-S Buffalo Nickel
- MS64 1921-s Buffalo Nickel (The value here has dipped down and I feel it is underpriced right now)
Final Thoughts
Again, I think that the MS64 1921-S is undervalued right now, and might be a nice buy for future growth. I really think you’ll see the 1921 Buffalo Nickel value continue upwards as a result of low mintage.
Also, take a look at the 1920 or 1934 buffalo nickels as well.
Happy Collecting!