1937-D 3 Legs Buffalo Nickel Value: What Is It Worth in 2026?
Getting this graded by PCGS or NGC before selling usually pays off. Authentication matters: key dates and the famous overdates are among the most faked nickels in the hobby.
Value by condition
| Good (G-4, heavily worn) | $559 |
| Very Good (VG-8) | $612 |
| Fine (F-12) | $666 |
| Very Fine (VF-20) | $721 |
| Extremely Fine (XF-40) | $895 |
| About Uncirculated (AU-50) | $1,127 |
| Mint State (MS-63, uncirculated) | $5,221 |
The most famous error in the series: an over-polished die removed the buffalo's front leg entirely. Even worn examples bring hundreds. Machine-damaged coins are often passed off as this variety — the missing leg must be smooth, with the hoof junction cleanly absent.
See the full page for this coin (mintage, how to identify it, where to sell)How the most famous nickel error happened — and how to spot a real one
In late 1937 a press operator at the Denver Mint noticed the dies for the new nickels were clashing — banging into each other without a coin blank between them, damaging the design. To fix it, a Mint employee ground and polished the damaged die. He removed the clash marks, but he also removed most of the buffalo's front right leg. Tens of thousands of coins were struck from that die before anyone noticed, and the 1937-D Three-Legged nickel became an instant legend.
The diagnosis is visual: the front right leg is gone from hoof to hip, the ground line is weak, and the back of the buffalo shows heavy polishing marks. Genuine examples also tend to show a faint, weak 'P' in E PLURIBUS UNUM. Even heavily worn genuine coins bring hundreds of dollars; uncirculated ones bring thousands.
Because the coin is so famous, it is one of the most-faked errors in the hobby — people grind the leg off ordinary 1937-D nickels. A fake usually shows tool marks, scratches, or an unnatural sharp edge where the leg was removed. Never buy or sell a raw 'Three-Legged' for serious money without PCGS or NGC authentication: the grading fee is trivial compared to the price difference between genuine and altered.
How to confirm it's genuine
- The mint mark is on the reverse, below FIVE CENTS — a small D or S. No letter means Philadelphia. The date is on the obverse, on the Native American's left shoulder; it wears away first because it sits on the highest point of the design.
- Leg varieties came from over-polished dies, so genuine ones look smooth where the leg should be. Tool marks or scratches mean someone altered a regular coin — that is damage, not the variety.
- Never clean the coin: cleaning destroys the original surface and can cut the value in half.
- For any coin worth more than $200, PCGS/NGC grading fees (~$20–50) are money well spent.
Where to sell this coin
- eBay works best in the $1.00–$200 range. Take clear photos of both sides in natural light, and put the year, mint mark, and approximate grade in the title.
- A local coin dealer is the fastest way to cash out, but expect 60–70% of guide prices. Best for selling common dates in bulk — dealers buy worn Buffalo nickels by the roll.
- Graded high-value coins do best at auction houses like Heritage Auctions or Stack's Bowers, where realized prices are public.