Many things intrigue the American populous. Rare coins continue to be one of the largest collector’s groups out there compared to others. The collection of coins – some foreign, some domestic – has been a pastime for years. For example, not many individuals live their lives without hearing about the Buffalo Nickel. It is one of the most famous rare coins that is scarce, but well-known. It proves that currency will continue to.
Though many individuals know of the Buffalo Nickel, the actual history of the nickel is vastly obscure. On the Buffalo Nickel Organization website, they cover the central portions of the metal’s history. Any collector or soon to be collector should know about this famed coin.
The Buffalo nickel had a short run getting produced by the U.S. mint. The 5 cent coin was in production from 1913-1938. The short stint allowed it to be one of the more famous coins of the past 100 years. The nickel, like newer models, has the 75% copper to 25% nickel break down. However, the design brings individuals to the coin.
James Earle Fraser designed the coin to pay homage to Native Americans and their heritage. Fraser had the opportunity to collaborate with three different chieftains for a different project. He used them as the culmination of the Native American that is on the coin. Chief Iron Tail from the Sioux nation, Chief Two Moons from the Cheyenne Nation, and Chief John Big Tree of the Seneca Nation were all morphed together. The morphing created an embodiment of a “type” of a particular person imprinted on the back of the coin. It allowed for a “general” depiction of the peoples of the tribes.
The buffalo on the front, however, was supposedly a portrait of a single buffalo from the New York Zoo. The buffalo’s name was Black Diamond and was an amazing animal based on the design on the back of the coin. According to an article by Indian Country Today Media Network about the currency’s 100th Anniversary, Black Diamond died in 1915. His body provided 750 pounds of meat – an upsetting fate for the famed buffalo.
The Buffalo Nickel had two different designs during its production. The first type – made only during the first year of its release in 1913 – had the words “five cents” imposed on the mound that the buffalo stood on. However, they figured that the phrase would wear too quickly in that position. So, on the second type (which continued until its retirement in 1938) “five cents” got printed in the recess that was on the mound. This way, it would last longer.
What makes these coins so special, aside from their short run, is that there are quite a few that have multiple errors. Some of the most common errors found were D’s over S’s. It designated where mint the coin came from and had numbers over other numbers. However, the ones that many collectors want to try to get their hands on are from particular years and mints. The 1936-D coins have a 3.5 legged buffalo on it, while the 1937-D coins have a buffalo with only three legs. As one of the groups of coins that has the most errors, they came to be some of the best rare coins to collect out of US currency.
Next time you wander down Main Street, stop on in and see what rare coins we have in store or give us a call at (603)-718-1018.
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