Coin Roll Hunting Guide
Coin Roll Hunting Nickels
Discover war nickels, Buffalo nickels, key Jefferson dates, and popular errors found in circulation.
The New and Complete Coin Roll Hunting Nickels Guide
Nickels are fairly easy as you’re mostly looking for anything prior to 1960 (aka V Nickels or Buffalo Nickels). Also keep an eye open for War Nickels (35% silver), dated 1942 to 1945.
Many (many!) of the Buffalo Nickels have missing dates (worn off). Even without a date, they can easily be sold for more than face value ($0.05) OR they can quite often be revealed using Nic-a-date Date Restorer.
🔎 One-Glance Nickel Hunting Cheat Sheet
Want to see everything in one place? Expand the table below for a list of nickel errors, war-silver finds, and low-mintage dates.
Quick Reference: Nickel Errors / Varieties + Low-Mintage (Click to Expand)
| Errors / Varieties | Low Mintage / Key Dates |
|---|---|
|
Buffalo Nickels 1913 — DDO / DDR
1916 — DDO
1917 — DDR
1918 — DDR
1929-S — DDO
1930 — DDO / DDR
1931-S — DDR
1935 — DDR
1936-D — DDO / DDR
Major Buffalo Varieties 1913-D — Type 2 / 2 Feathers
1917-D / 1917-S — 2 Feathers
1918 / 1918-S — 2 Feathers
1926-D / 1927-D — 3½ Leg
1937-D — 3-Leg Buffalo
Jefferson Nickels 1939-D — Doubled Monticello
1942-D — Over Horizontal D
1943-P — Doubled Eye
1945-P — DDO
Silver Nickels (War Nickels) 1942–1945 — Large mint mark above Monticello
56% Copper · 35% Silver · 9% Manganese
|
Buffalo Nickels 1913-S — 2,105,000
1914-D — 3,912,000
1921-S — 1,557,000
1924-S — 1,437,000
1926-S — 970,000
Jefferson Nickels 1938-D — 5,376,000
1939-D — 3,514,000
1950-D — 2,630,030
Modern Low-Mintage Watch List 2009-D — ~39,840,000
2009-P — ~39,840,000
2020-W — Special mint issues
2024-P / 2024-D — Monitor final mintages
|
Bench tip: check for war nickels first (1942–45), then Buffalo key dates, followed by Jefferson RPMs and modern low-mintage issues.
The above list contains all the information below but in one basic list, not in different sections.
On This Page
Metal Composition
| War Nickels | 56% Copper, 35% Silver, 9% Manganese |
| Buffalo and Jefferson Nickels | 75% Copper, 25% Nickel |
Examples of Varieties and Errors
 Double Die |  2 Feathers |
 3 ½ Legs |  Over Dates |
Buffalo Nickel Errors and Varieties
| Double Dies | 2 Feathers Varieties |
| 1913 DDO & DDR 1916 DDO 1917 DDR 1918 DDR 1929S DDO 1930 DDO & DDR 1931S DDR 1935 DDR 1935S DDR 1936D DDO & DDR | 1913D 1915 1916 1917 1917D 1917S 1918 1918S 1919 1919S 1920 1920S 1921 1921S 1925D 1925S 1927S 1929S 1930S |
| OOMs and RPMs | 3 ½ Leg Varieties |
| 1915D 1915S 1925S 1927D 1930S 1935D 1936D 1936S 1938D | 1913D 1917D 1926D 1927D 1936D 1937D (3 legs) |