Buffalo Nickels 1913-1938
The Buffalo Nickel is a classic in American design. It is both a simple and powerful coin that truly symbolized the ruggedness of American idealism. Probably the finest tribute to the coin was the Buffalo Commemorative Silver Dollar. When it was introduced in 2001, the mint sold its entire production run of 500,000 coins in two weeks. In 2006 the mint again recognized the timelessness of the design by producing the "American Buffalo" or "Gold Buffalo" as it is known to collectors. It is almost an exact replica of the original Buffalo nickel. This was the first time that the United States Government has minted pure 24-karat gold coins for the public and the bullion trade. The coin had a legal tender value of US$50.
The original coin was designed by James Earle Fraser, a former assistant to the famous sculptor and coin designer Saint-Gaudens and the coin replaced Charles Barber's Liberty Nickels. Some egos were bruised because Barber was the Chief Engraver of the US Mint at the time. However in the end, the Treasury Secretary chose the Buffalo Nickel over Barber's objections and it went into production in 1913. The coin was the first to accurately portray the Native American on a coin. The design of the Indian is actually a composite of three Native American chiefs that posed for the portrait. They were: Iron Tail (an Oglala Sioux), Big Tree (Onondaga), and Two Moons (Cheyenne). The "buffalo" portrayed on the reverse was an American Bison, Black Diamond, from the Bronx Zoo.
Type Information
The general type coin collector will normally obtain one example of the Buffalo Nickel.
For the specialized type coin collector two major varieties of the Buffalo Nickels were minted, one had the "FIVE CENTS" on a raised mound on the reverse. As early as April 1913, rapid wear in this area became evident on the coins in circulation. The mint modified the design by cutting away the mound and placed the bison on a straight line, then put the denomination in the recessed area under the line. These are known as Type II coins and the original design are labeled as Type I.
Collector Points
No Buffalo nickels were minted in 1922, 1932, and 1933. Proofs come in two versions: Matte Proofs were made from 1913 through 1916, and Brilliant Proofs in 1936 and 1937. Because of the design, well struck coins are hard to find. This is especially true of coins from the branch mints
Investor Information
This is a favorite coin among series collectors. Untold numbers of collectors have put together date and mint mark sets. The most difficult coin to obtain is the very rare 1918/7-D over date. Scarce to rare dates in high grade include all the San Francisco coins from 1913 through 1928, with 1918, 1920 and 1924 through 1927 being the hardest to find. Denver coins are usually weaker strikes than San Francisco pieces and present the collector with challenges like the 1918 through 1920 issues, and the 1925 and 1926 coins, along with the famous 1937-D 3-legged Buffalo.
Because of the coin's classic design and strong base of collectors it holds its value well and has overcome many of the negatives such as the small size and base metal content. Prices for well struck examples are often much higher that the values listed in price guides.
Visit www.uscoinfacts.com for a wealth of data about US Coins or this page for Buffalo Nickels.
Source: www.articlecity.com
