1928 Buffalo Nickel

Right around 37 million Buffalo nickels were made in 1928, which is another year full of common-date pieces. While by no means a record year for Buffalo nickel production 1928 definitely yielded a high crop of five-cent coins, with 23,411,000 rolling out of the Philadelphia mint. Another 6,436,000 were minted at the Denver facility, and 6,936,000 were produced at San Francisco. 

These strong numbers have helped keep 1928 Buffalo nickels plentiful in the collector market. In fact, all three issues from 1928 are easily obtainable for as little as $1 to $2 in Good to Very Good. Prices for the 1928-S escalate fairly dramatically in the Mint State level ($250 and up for an uncirculated piece), but the prices for a 1928 or 1928-D are quite reasonable at around $40 to $50.

As is the case with virtually all Buffalo nickels, 1928 five-cent pieces are not well struck; this is largely due to the Buffalo nickel’s intricate and high-relief design, created by James Earle Fraser. Weak strikes are particularly notorious among the Denver- and San Francisco-mint pieces. When buying high-grade Buffalo nickels, be mindful of the strike issue and take your time to cherrypick. Do your best to find well-struck 1928 Buffalo nickels with plenty of detail.