Coin specifications and design
Design identification
Obverse: Native American portrait.
Reverse: American bison.
U.S. Mint coin reference
1913–1938: Buffalo Nickel (Type 2: Indian Head / Bison on Recessed Flat Line)
Indian Head / Buffalo nickel design and series notes.
1913–1938: Buffalo Nickel (Type 2: Indian Head / Bison on Recessed Flat Line) history
The Type 2 Buffalo nickel recesses FIVE CENTS beneath a flatter ground line to protect the denomination from wear. It replaced the raised-mound reverse during 1913 and continued through 1938.
Dates and mintmarks often wore away in circulation, and many pieces were later treated with acid to reveal them. Natural surfaces, horn detail, date shape, and the mintmark beneath FIVE CENTS deserve careful inspection.