The first Indian Head nickels were realized into circulation on March 4, 1913. The fact they depicted two genuinely American themes made them immediately popular. The buffalo, a totemic animal in Native American culture, represented leadership spirit, strength, and unity. On the other hand, an Indian chief honored Native American people.

Unfortunately, the first problems appeared right away because the raised design was impractical for minting. After corrections, the US Mint made redesigned coins, but issues with this series had never been solved with complete success. However, this series is popular and collectible, keeping the 1930 Buffalo nickel value stable for years.

History of the 1930 Buffalo/indian head Nickel

The Buffalo nickel’s historical significance is in the design that represents America’s heritage. Despite numerous problems with minting, these beautiful coins are highly collectible nowadays primarily because of these themes.

The Buffalo nickels’ official name is Indian Head nickels. James Earle Fraser was honored to create this coin when the time came to say goodbye to the Barber’s Liberty Head coin.

Most officials and American people were delighted with the new coins’ look. Unfortunately, their appearance was the only good thing about this coin. The design was challenging to mint, the dies wore out quickly, and the result was nickels with the date and denomination that wore out and faded quickly.

Therefore, everyone was satisfied when the Jefferson nickels replaced them after the required 25-year period. Interestingly, such impractical coins for everyday use became excellent collectibles and classical American coinage.

The Buffalo nickel history began when President Roosevelt concluded that existing American coinage was unimaginative and artistically poor quality. Therefore, the US Mint started changing the design of all coins that circulated for at least 25 years. One of them was Buffalo nickel.

The idea began to turn into reality in 1909 with Lincoln cent. The first Buffalo nickels appeared in 1913, but it was the beginning of numerous redesigns. The coin look underwent a few modifications in the first four years, particularly in the lettering thickness and the land the bison stood on.

Despite all the effort, this design caused the dies to wear out five times faster than usual. Additionally, the excellent and beautiful coin look lasted only a short period and started losing design details quickly after releasing into circulation.