1934 D Buffalo Nickel

The Great Depression hit the Midwest the hardest, having begun there a year or two earlier than in the rest of the nation. As this region was served by the Denver Mint, the coining of nickels was suspended there from 1930 through mid-1934.

Mint State pieces exist in sufficient numbers from the many rolls put away at the time of issue, but the quality of these coins is often less than ideal. While most are lustrous, a great many have poor strikes affecting the centers of both sides. Such incomplete striking reveals the many contact marks present on the planchets prior to coining. Fuller strikes would eradicate these flaws, yet they remain to affect a coin's certified grade. Thus, gems of this issue are a bit scarce.

Most 1934 D nickels display the Small D mintmark introduced 1917. Perhaps only one or two dies utilized the Large D mintmark which debuted on other coins the previous year. Though now reasonably well known, these varieties have not attracted much interest. The same may be said for the a repunched mintmark die several doubled-die varieties, all of them quite minor.