Two hot metal cones imprint a planchet (a blank piece of metal that will become a coin) with obverse and reverse designs to strike a coin correctly. According to Walter Breen's 1988 encyclopedia, a young Denver mint worker accidently had a coin die attack while manufacturing this 1937 cent.
After the planchet-feeder ceased feeding blank metal into the press, the opposing dies crashed together instead of into a blank planchet.
This damaged the dies, which the young mint worker tried to repair with sandpaper and elbow grease. The young mint worker polished off the dies' clash-related flaws, probably too vigorously. The buffalo's front leg was rubbed off, but its hoof remained.
The nickels the over-polished, damaged dies pressed bore a small (erroneous) raised stream under the buffalo's belly when the "corrected" dies were pressed back into service, which may have given coin collectors already laughing about the buffalo's missing leg an idea of why he raised it.
Varmints and coin values Since discovering this three-legged buffalo in his coin-pressed pasture in 1939, error coin collectors have been buzzing. These mistake coins circulated roughly 10,000, according to experts.
Perhaps just a few hundred remain in good shape. Of course, deformed die-hard collectors don't care about top-notch too much. Collectors may be interested in a worn 1937-D Buffalo nickel or a pristine sample that has never been in a pocket or nickel slot.
At auction, NGC and PCGS-graded coins have sold for $705 to $2,640. A "gem" mistake coin sold for $5,200.64 on eBay in December 2024, and a "near-gem" sold for $7,522 in November 2024. The three-legged buffalo nickel appears like it could break a leg, yet some counterfeiters may fake one. Or simulate a lost one.
Falsifiers sometimes completely retool coins, making them look perfect. Others may sand off the missing leg. Here comes squinting again.
Trust professionals to authenticate this coin, however genuine coins will not have the "P" or "E" in "Pluribus E Unum" contacting the buffalo's back, but they will have a janky hind limb and the raised ridge of relief.