1935 Nickel Error List with Pictures

FIVE CENTS can look as though it has been printed twice on a strong 1935 doubled-back variety. One unworn Philadelphia example brought $104,650 in August 2007.

The 1935 Buffalo Nickel errors below have estimated whole-coin values of $20–$110,000. The extreme upper end belongs to exceptional varieties and preservation, while many smaller mistakes cost far less.

Start with the mintmark, then compare the extra lettering, missing design, or unusual outline described below.

1. 1935 Buffalo Nickel Material Blocking the Back Design

An area of the buffalo side can fail to form when material sits between the coin and the stamping tool. That interruption is called a struck-through error.

A collector’s illustrated set includes a 1935 example described with a major back-side interruption. Its VG10 grade indicates substantial wear, and the collector leaves its mint unidentified.

The description does not establish whether grease, cloth, wire, or another object blocked the design. The actual surface must support any more specific name.

Wear can also weaken the buffalo and lettering. Compare the affected area with the surviving high points before naming an obstruction.

Estimated Value

Estimate $40–$500 for genuine 1935 struck-through examples, depending on the area affected and the remaining condition. A large readable impression can be more appealing than a faint weak patch.

The displayed VG10 coin is heavily worn, so an unworn example would need a different condition comparison. The error’s visibility still matters alongside the grade.

A localized interruption surrounded by original detail supports collector interest. Damage that scraped away the back design should not receive the same estimated premium.

How to Identify

The collector identifies this worn coin’s mint as unknown. Photograph all surviving lettering before treating a missing mintmark as proof of Philadelphia manufacture.

Compare the affected back area with the buffalo’s other high points under a 10× magnifier. Similar flattening across the whole animal suggests wear rather than a separate obstruction.

For a loose coin, a scale and calipers check about 5 grams and 21.21 millimeters, with a plain edge. These measurements do not identify the material that might have blocked the design.

Look inside the local depression for original texture or an object-shaped impression. Scraping and corrosion can remove detail too, so inspect the boundary for cut or damaged metal.

 

2. 1935 Buffalo Nickel Repunched D and S Mintmarks

A small extra arc below FIVE CENTS may belong to an earlier mintmark punch. Workers entered the letter into the stamping tool, and another attempt could leave overlapping strokes.

The coin then received those strokes in a normal strike. A repeated letter does not require the finished nickel to have been struck twice.

The collector’s set shows a Denver MS66 example and a separate San Francisco AU58 example. MS66 describes an unworn coin with few marks; AU58 means slight wear.

The D and S patterns need different comparisons. Neither mint’s extra outline should be borrowed to identify the other.

Estimated Value

For recognizable repunched mintmarks, estimate $20–$1,000 across worn coins through attractive examples with strong repeated detail. Minor patterns usually belong nearer the lower end.

The high-grade Denver example also has value from its preservation. Its condition cannot be used to price the slightly worn San Francisco coin without considering their different patterns.

A clearly matched earlier letter is more useful than a lump beside the mintmark. Cleaning, scratches, or a vague extra curve can reduce the whole coin’s appeal.

How to Identify

Read the main mintmark first, then choose a photograph of that same letter and variety. Both D and S sit below FIVE CENTS on the back.

Use a 10× magnifier to follow the complete earlier strokes around the final letter. A rounded remnant in the correct place is more useful than an isolated spot or flat shelf.

Inspect nearby design for marks that help match the specific stamping tool.

A normal loose Buffalo nickel weighs 5 grams and measures 21.21 millimeters on a scale and calipers, with a plain edge. These measurements cannot establish a repunch.

Confirm the earlier letter’s position and shape before applying a named variety’s price or the grade of a different specimen.

 

3. 1935 Buffalo Nickel Expanded Strike with a Clip and Heating-Related Surface Change

The collector’s Philadelphia nickel combines three reported features. Its unevenly centered design has an expanded outline, a section of metal is missing, and the surface is described as improperly annealed.

A broadstrike happens when the surrounding ring does not restrain the disk normally. A clip starts with an incomplete blank, the metal disk prepared before striking.

Annealing means heating blanks to soften them before further work. An abnormal result needs more evidence than color alone.

The displayed grade is MS64, meaning unworn with noticeable marks. These features describe one combined example, not three separate coins.

Estimated Value

For a genuine combination like the displayed MS64 coin, estimate $150–$1,800. Original expansion, a convincing blank shortage, and preservation guide the whole-coin comparison.

The heating-related description should not create an automatic extra charge for unusual color. A stain can change the appearance of an otherwise normal surface.

The three reported features belong to one specimen and should be priced together. Adding the highest standalone estimate for each would overstate what a buyer is actually purchasing.

How to Identify

Begin at the gap in the outline and inspect its boundary with a 10× magnifier. A clip was already missing when the remaining metal spread during striking.

Record a loose coin’s weight with a scale against the normal 5 grams. Calipers compare the outline with 21.21 millimeters, but expansion and missing metal affect the readings differently.

Now trace the design around the expanded area. A broadstrike preserves the full design where the blank remains, unlike an off-center strike that cuts the design off.

Inspect the plain edge for filing or other later damage.

Finally, examine the unusual surface separately from the outline. Its color alone cannot establish a heating mistake rather than later staining or treatment.

 

4. 1935 Buffalo Nickel Twelve-Percent Off-Center Strike

The design sits toward the upper right on a Philadelphia example described as twelve percent off-center. The disk entered the press out of position, leaving part of it untouched.

The collector’s set grades this coin MS63, an unworn grade allowing noticeable marks. No mintmark is normal on a Philadelphia Buffalo nickel.

This differs from the expanded coin with a clip described above. Here, the empty-looking area contains metal that missed the design rather than a missing piece of the blank.

A shifted front alone is not enough. The back should agree with the same displaced disk.

Estimated Value

Estimate $200–$2,500 for genuine dated 1935 off-center nickels, with the size of the shift and condition affecting the price. A clear year makes the coin easier to identify.

A separate dealer example described as fifteen percent off-center toward nine o’clock carried a $1,400 asking price. That request is not a sale of the collector’s twelve-percent upper-right example.

Keep the two positions and specimens separate. Surface damage or a partly lost date can make another coin a weaker comparison.

How to Identify

Hold the dated face upright and find the direction of the shifted design. The collector’s twelve-percent example moves toward the upper right, while the separately advertised coin moves left.

Compare both faces through a 10× magnifier, following the boundary between struck design and untouched metal. A single shifted tool would leave a different relationship between the faces.

A loose intact blank may remain near 5 grams even after an off-center strike. Measure the outline with calipers against 21.21 millimeters and inspect the plain edge for later cutting.

Keep all surviving date digits visible in the same photographs. The key feature is displaced design on an intact disk, not simply an uneven rim.

 

5. 1935 Buffalo Nickel Reported Strike on the Wrong Blank

A nickel press can stamp its design onto a disk prepared for another coin. Such a piece may have the wrong weight, size, or metal for a normal Buffalo nickel.

A 1935 error guide lists this category without identifying the original denomination or mint. It does not establish that the disk was a cent blank or a dime blank.

Those alternatives have different dimensions and metal. They should not share an invented measured weight.

A colored coating or later trimming can imitate parts of the appearance. The original disk must explain the genuine Buffalo design struck onto it.

Estimated Value

Use a conditional estimate of $500–$6,000 for a genuine 1935 Buffalo nickel on an identified incorrect blank. The actual denomination and metal would narrow that comparison considerably.

As a different-design example, a 1942 Jefferson nickel on a cent blank sold for $2,280 in July 2021. That measured 3.04-gram coin does not establish a cent blank for the 1935 report.

Readable identity and preservation also affect value. A normal nickel that has merely changed color falls outside this estimate.

How to Identify

Weigh a loose candidate before assigning it another denomination. A normal Buffalo nickel weighs 5 grams, and calipers should show a width near 21.21 millimeters.

Keep the complete outline and all readable parts of 1935 in the photographs. The metal must carry the Buffalo design, rather than another coin’s design struck on nickel metal.

Use a 10× magnifier to inspect cropped wording and the plain edge. Trimming or coating can change a normal nickel’s appearance without changing its original blank.

The year guide does not identify the starting denomination, so professional metal testing may be needed. Match the alloy, weight, and surviving design together before naming a cent, dime, or other blank.

 

6. 1935 Buffalo Nickel Doubled Back Design

The strongest Philadelphia variety has bold doubled outlines in FIVE CENTS that can be visible without magnification. Smaller repetition also appears in E PLURIBUS UNUM and parts of the buffalo.

The steel stamping tool already carried those extra outlines. This is a doubled die, so one strike can place both images on a coin.

The San Francisco variety is different. Its repeated details include PLUR, the U in UNUM, the E in FIVE, and CENTS.

Both are called FS-801 within their respective mint listings. Sharing that short number does not make their patterns or values interchangeable.

Estimated Value

PCGS records $104,650 in August 2007 for an MS65 Philadelphia example. That historical high concerns an unusually well-preserved major variety, not every doubled-looking back.

Estimate $100–$110,000 across collectible doubled-back examples, with most worn or less dramatic varieties far below the extreme upper end. A practical starting comparison for modest pieces is $100–$1,500.

Mint, exact pattern, and condition must agree. The Philadelphia record cannot price the San Francisco variety or a weaker repeated design.

How to Identify

Look below FIVE CENTS for an S before selecting a comparison. No mintmark identifies the Philadelphia issue, whose bold denomination doubling differs from the San Francisco pattern.

Use a 10× magnifier to compare several letters, then follow the additional design outlines. For San Francisco, inspect PLUR, the U in UNUM, and the specified parts of FIVE CENTS.

Thick letters or flat shelves from movement during striking are not enough to establish a doubled tool.

A scale and calipers should place a normal loose example near 5 grams and 21.21 millimeters, with a plain edge. Those checks establish the basic coin, while the consistent repeated pattern identifies the variety.

Use the correct mint’s photographs even when both labels say FS-801.

 

Conclusion

The estimated $20–$110,000 span covers very different 1935 Buffalo nickel errors. The $104,650 Philadelphia doubled-back result sits at an exceptional historical high, while small mintmark varieties can be much more affordable.

Compare the actual mint and pattern before using a price. Keep combined features on one coin together, and distinguish an incomplete blank from metal left untouched by an off-center strike.