1930

Philadelphia struck 22,849,000 Buffalo nickels in 1930, a significant drop from 1929 as the Great Depression began to affect Mint production. The decline reflected reduced commercial demand for new coinage as economic activity contracted. The 1930 Philadelphia coin is common in circulated grades and available in Mint State through normal channels, though less abundant than pre-Depression years.

Strike characteristics for 1930 are generally strong, and Gem-quality examples exist in adequate numbers for specialist demand. Collectors building complete Buffalo nickel sets acquire the 1930 Philadelphia as a typical intermediate acquisition that requires slightly more effort than common dates without qualifying as a semi-key.

1930 was the first full year of the Depression, and the economic crisis deepened throughout the year. Bank failures began, unemployment rose toward the double-digit levels that would characterize the 1930s, and President Hoover's attempts to address the downturn through limited federal intervention proved inadequate. The Buffalo nickels struck that year entered circulation in a country experiencing the beginning of the longest and deepest economic crisis in its history.