As many collectors of Buffalo Nickels know, issues bearing the coveted combination of an early date and a mintmark are scarce as a rule. That’s certainly the case with the 1915-D Buffalo Nickel, which was issued within the first few years of the series’ debut. The 1915-D Buffalo Nickel saw a mintage of less than 10 million and wasn’t saved in large numbers because collectors simply weren’t that interested in collecting coins by mintmark back when this coin first hit the streets.
It’s essentially a result of the lack of numismatic interest in coins like early mintmarked Buffalo Nickels back in the day that helped make these coins so appealing to collectors today. All told, just 7,569,000 examples of the 1915-D Buffalo Nickel were struck, and PCGS estimates that only around 8,000 specimens exist now – barely 1% of the original output!
Does that make the 1915-D Buffalo Nickel a rare date? No. It doesn’t necessarily even make it a semi-key, which is a relatively lofty category better suited to pieces like the decisively low-mintage 1914-D and 1921-S. However, the 1915-D is certainly a better date, and as a better-date issue it deservedly commands a special degree of numismatic attention.
In the well-worn grade of G04, the 1915-D Buffalo Nickel trades for around $30, while an F12 example fetches closer to $50. An eye-opening price jump to $130 in XF40 reflects the challenge in procuring higher-end specimens with little wear. Finding examples with no wear is tougher still, with MS63 specimens claiming $425. One of the highest prices ever hammered for the 1915-D fell on a PCGS MS67 that took $13,800 in a 2019 auction.