THERE was an unprecedented production of small change between 1917 and 1918, including a valuable nickel with a critical error.
The First World War led to a severe shortage of small-denomination coins.
Over a million American soldiers served in Europe, each with at least a few nickels and pennies in his pocket.
They found the French were highly fond of nickels, and some started hoarding and transporting them overseas.
As a result, American mints were forced to go into overdrive and start making extra nickels and other coins.
During the speedy process, some nickels were incorrectly stamped with the 1917 date and then restamped with 1918, either intentionally or inadvertently.
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The eight in 1918 has a very flat top, showing it used to be a seven.
This “overdate” error appears on the Buffalo Nickel, which features a buffalo on one side and a Native American on the other. This design was in place for 25 years before the Jefferson Nickel we’re used to today entered circulation in 1938.
The coins with overdates went straight into circulation, and the error wasn’t noticed until the 1930s when collecting Buffalo Nickels became popular.
One sold for $50 at an auction in the 1930s and was listed in the first edition of the Guide Book of United States coins in 1947.
The book listed a circulated coin for sale for $40 and an uncirculated one for $150.
The record-high auction amount for an overdated Buffalo Nickel is $258,000, according to Heritage Auctions.
The exact number of these overdated nickels is unknown, but it is expected that 100,000 were minted.
Since they were in circulation for so long before the error was discovered, many surviving examples are in lower grades.
THREE-LEGGED WONDER
Another popular Buffalo Nickel sold for $2,996 on eBay.
In 1937, thousands of nickels were mistakenly minted in Denver with the Buffalo missing one of its legs.
“The 1937-D 3 Legs variety resulted from over-zealous polishing of a worn reverse die. The front foreleg was almost completely removed and the back leg developed a “moth-eaten” appearance,” said Ron Guth, president of the Professional Coin Grading Society.
Rare coins
You may be holding something valuable in your wallet. Check out these articles on rare coins to see if you may have a treasure hidden deep in your pockets.
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- Lincoln double die obverse penny sells for $2,000
- Half cent sells for $3,383
- Rare nickel sells for $1,956 on eBay
- 1889 CC Morgan Silver dollar coin sells for $1,850
- Lincoln 1992 penny can be worth up to $25,000
- Standing Liberty quarter sells for $565
- Lincoln coin minted in 2020 sells for $525
The mistake was quickly discovered, but not before the coins made it into circulation.
Coin collectors consider it one of the “most famous and most important” coins of the twentieth century.
The buffalo is missing one of its front legs, and to ensure authenticity, a D mintmark should be right under it.
One that was in particularly good condition sold for $99,875 at an auction in 2021.
