The 1920-S Buffalo nickel is another scarce San Francisco Mint issue, of similar rarity to other early entries in the series. Fewer than 9.7 million were minted, making this one of the lower-mintage issues in the series. But that alone doesnt tell the whole tale behind the rarity of this coin. It is a truly difficult coin in uncirculated grade and exceptionally rare in Gem levels, perhaps one of the rarest, if not the rarest in that grade range besides the elusive the 1926-S Buffalo nickel. This fact is borne out in the population stats, with around 50 examples available in MS65 or higher, just one MS66 having been slabbed by NGC.
| coinage-type | Buffalo nickel |
| desg | MS |
| designer | James Earle Fraser |
| diameter | 21.2 |
| edge | Plain |
| material | 75% copper; 25% nickel |
| mint-mark | S |
| mintage | 9,689,000 |
| ngc-id | 22RS |
| 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 | 3946 |
| pcgs-number | 3946 |
| 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 |