While the 1934 Buffalo nickel is considered a common coin by many in the hobby and it is so in the circulated grades, it is relatively scarce in uncirculated grades in a fashion more similar to the 1920s Philly-mint issues that preceded it. Estimates suggest more than 1,000 survivors in MS65 or better, and pops bear this out with hundreds of examples known in MS66 and several dozen in the MS67 range.
| coinage-type | Buffalo nickel |
| desg | MS |
| designer | James Earle Fraser |
| diameter | 21.2 |
| edge | Plain |
| material | 75% copper; 25% nickel |
| mintage | 20,213,003 |
| ngc-id | 22SL |
| 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 | 3972 |
| pcgs-number | 3972 |
| 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 |