1915 Buffalo Nickel

The 1915 Buffalo Nickel had a mintage of just 20,986,220. The composition of these coins is copper/nickel. The diameter is 21.2mm. We use strict Photograde standards when grading all of our coins. You can view the "general guidelines" as to what condition you can expect for each grade on at the bottom of the main page for the Buffalo Nickels. Please allow 3 to 5 business days for your order to leave our offices as each coin must be inspected and graded prior to packaging.

What's a 1915 Buffalo nickel worth?

A circulated 1915 Buffalo nickel from Philadelphia is a solid, affordable early date: about $4 in Good, $7 in Fine, and $18 in Extremely Fine, with Uncirculated coins starting near $104. The ceiling is real — an MS67+ example brought $9,600 at Heritage in 2024. PCGS notes the 1915 is usually well struck with attractive satiny luster, easy to find worn but genuinely scarce in Gem condition.

To check yours, flip the coin over and look below FIVE CENTS on the reverse. A blank space means Philadelphia — the coin on this page — while a small D or S means Denver or San Francisco. Grade drives value in this series, so also check how much of the bison's horn and tail detail remains before you compare against other Buffalo nickels.

Philadelphia struck 20,986,220 nickels in 1915, just the third year of James Earle Fraser's classic design. We inspect and grade every coin before it ships.

Values: PCGS CoinFacts and CoinStudy.