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| Buffalo nickel | |
|---|---|
| Name | Buffalo nickel |
| Denomination | Five cents |
| Country | United States |
| Value | 0.05 USD |
| Designer | James Earle Fraser |
| Composition | Copper 75% · Nickel 25% |
| Years of minting | 1913–1938 |
| Mass | 5g |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
Buffalo nickel The Buffalo nickel is a United States five-cent coin struck from 1913 to 1938 featuring a Native American portrait on the obverse and an American bison on the reverse. It was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser, whose work intersected with contemporaries and institutions such as the American Numismatic Association, the United States Mint, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the artistic milieu of the Beaux-Arts movement. The coin has been the subject of numismatic study, market collecting, legal issues, and cultural references in publications such as The Numismatist and exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution.
Fraser conceived the design during interactions with figures and places including sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Daniel Chester French, and the Art Students League of New York, and he drew inspiration from field models, museum specimens, and ethnographic collections at the American Museum of Natural History. The obverse portrait, created after study of leaders and personalities such as Iron Tail, Two Moons (Cheyenne) and other Lakota and Sioux individuals, was intended to be a composite rather than a likeness of a single person; Fraser discussed Native sitters in correspondence with patrons like S. C. H. Sunderland and acquaintances in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation circles. For the reverse, Fraser modeled the American bison on taxidermy mounts such as the one at the Smithsonian Institution and on live animals observed at places like Denver Zoo and the Bronx Zoo. The design process involved approval by officials including Victor Emmanuel (judge)-era advisors in the United States Treasury and reviews by members of the Commission of Fine Arts such as Charles Moore (architect). Fraser's design reflected wider Progressive Era aesthetics found in public monuments like the Lincoln Memorial and in coin reforms influenced by reports from figures akin to President William Howard Taft.
Production began at the Philadelphia Mint and quickly expanded to branch mints including the Denver Mint and the San Francisco Mint. Initial 1913 issues included two major die varieties produced within the same year, and minting processes involved chronic interactions with Mint directors such as Frank A. Leach and Superintendent correspondence archived alongside documents from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The coin's production was affected by broader historical events including World War I, the Great Depression (1929) economic contraction, and federal policy shifts during the New Deal era. Coining practices evolved with new punches and dies supplied by engraving shops influenced by standards established at the United States Mint facility in Philadelphia and its satellite mints. Records of mintage figures were kept in annual reports to Congress and circulated in periodicals read by collectors associated with the American Numismatic Society.
The Buffalo nickel series contains notable varieties and striking errors cataloged by numismatists in guides used by dealers affiliated with organizations such as the American Numismatic Association and auction houses like Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers. Prominent variations include the 1913 Type 1 and Type 2 distinctions, overdates and repunched mintmarks occurring at the Denver Mint and San Francisco Mint, and die cracks, doubled dies, and struck-through errors documented in correspondence among specialists like Q. David Bowers and emeritus researchers at the American Numismatic Society Library. Famous error specimens, such as major die varieties and mintmark repunchings, have been subjects at auctions hosted by Sotheby's and featured in catalogs by the Professional Coin Grading Service and Numismatic Guaranty Company.
As a circulating five-cent piece, the coin circulated widely in urban centers like New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles as well as rural communities across states such as South Dakota and Montana, interacting with commercial practices in retail outlets, vending services, and transit systems including the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. Its life in commerce was influenced by federal monetary policies under administrations including Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The nickel's metal composition and mint output played a role in small-change circulation dynamics during periods of hoarding in crises similar to those witnessed during the Great Depression (1929) and wartime commodity scarcities noted during World War I. Melt value fluctuations and legislation such as acts authorizing coinage struck by the United States Congress affected collector and public behavior regarding coinage retention and circulation.
Collecting interest in the series grew through organizations like the American Numismatic Association, dealers such as Herman 'Dr. Homer' M. Keller (numismatist) and auction houses including Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers Galleries. Price guides produced by publications like A Guide Book of United States Coins (commonly known as the "Red Book") and grading services such as Professional Coin Grading Service and Numismatic Guaranty Company established market standards. High-grade specimens, rare mintmark varieties, and error coins have commanded strong prices at auctions, often appearing in sales by firms like Sotheby's and Christie's and in private transactions brokered by prominent dealers in New York City and Baltimore. The market has been tracked by commentators including Q. David Bowers and institutional resources at the American Numismatic Society.
The coin influenced American material culture and design discourse, appearing in exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History and referenced in literature, film, and visual arts scenes linked to New York and Midwestern collectors. Its imagery has inspired later commemorative issues by the United States Mint and has been invoked in popular culture contexts including period films set in the 1910s–1930s, museum catalogs from the American Museum of Natural History, and academic studies published by scholars associated with universities like Harvard University and Columbia University. The Buffalo nickel remains a touchstone in discussions of representation of Indigenous peoples in public art, engaging historians and institutions such as the National Museum of the American Indian and legal scholars who examine cultural property at organizations including the Native American Rights Fund.
Category:United States five-cent coins