1937 Proof

Proof production reached 5,769 coins in 1937, the final year of Buffalo nickel proof production before the series ended in 1938. The 1937 proof continued the Brilliant format that had been established as the collector preference during 1936, producing coins with deep mirror fields, frosted devices, and crisp strike characteristics.

The 1937 is the most common of the twentieth-century Buffalo nickel proofs and the most affordable entry in the proof sub-series. PR64 through PR66 examples are readily available through specialist channels, and Cameo designations add modest premiums. Collectors building complete Buffalo nickel proof sets acquire the 1937 without extraordinary effort, though high-grade examples (PR67 and above) become significantly scarcer and more expensive.

The 1937 proof represents the closing of Buffalo nickel proof production after a 24-year series that included early matte proofs (1913-1916), the 1936 transition year with both Satin and Brilliant formats, and the concluding Brilliant proofs of 1936-1937. No 1938 Buffalo nickel proofs were struck; the design ended its proof life with the 1937 issue, though circulation production continued briefly into 1938 at Denver before the Jefferson nickel took over.