Another scarce early mintmarked Buffalo nickel, the 1919-D five-cent piece is quite challenging in all circulated grades and rare throughout the entire spectrum of uncirculated levels. A couple dozen or so examples have been certified by PCGS and NGC in MS66, and all that have hit the trading circuit in recent years have commanded five-figure prices. This is not surprising, especially given that, with a total mintage of 8,362,000 and fewer than 6,000 survivors across the board, the 1919-D is the rarest Denver-mint issue in Gem of all pre-1920 Buffaloes.
| coinage-type | Buffalo nickel |
| desg | MS |
| designer | James Earle Fraser |
| diameter | 21.2 |
| edge | Plain |
| material | 75% copper; 25% nickel |
| mint-mark | D |
| mintage | 8,006,000 |
| ngc-id | 22RM |
| obverse-description | James Earle Fraser's famous and simple design depicts a Native American chief with the word LIBERTY from 1-2 o'clock. The date is placed on the lower left of the chieftain's bust. |
| pcgs-link | 3942 |
| pcgs-number | 3942 |
| reverse-description | A full portrait of the bison, Black Diamond, with the words UNITED STATES oF AMERICA at the top periphery with the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM just underneath. The denomination FIVE CENTS is spelled out at the bottom. For the Type 1, the denomination is embossed on a flat surface. |
| weight-grams | 5 |
| year-display | 1913-1938 |