1938-D Buffalo Nickel. MS-68 (PCGS).Mainly white with faint champagne color gracing its bumpy satin texture, this exquisite piece has an outstanding appearance. The strike, usually weak for 1938-D issues, is just about as detailed as they come. Even the most scrutinizing collector will have to concede that the present coin is very near perfect.The Denver Mint was the sole facility to produce the Buffalo nickel in its final year. While the nation dipped back into the second wave of the Great Depression, demand for the coins had eased off and many 1938-D Buffalo nickels sat in Treasury vaults. Collectors would have to wait until stocks of earlier coins were sufficiently depleted to warrant introduction into circulation. Many fresh rolls of coins were stashed away by speculators and numismatists, making this issue one of the most readily available of all the Buffalo nickels in Mint State. However, the issues availability at the at the highest grade levels drops off dramatically at MS-68, where this example is tied with just 35 pieces at PCGS and just 2 coins finer. A near-perfect example of one of the twentieth centurys most acclaimed coin designs.
