The Buffalo nickel is a very popular coin among collectors, and there are many valuable coins in this series!
The Buffalo nickel was designed by James Earle Fraser, and first released in 1913. The obverse of the coin features the profile of a Native American, which is actually three different men. The word "LIBERTY" is along the upper right edge of the coin, and the date is in the lower left quadrant, below the neck.
Three Native American Chiefs modeled for Fraser sometime in the early 1900s, they were Chief Iron Tail, Chief Big Tree, and Chief Two Moons. All three men at the time were performers in Wild West Shows in New York City.
The reverse of the coin features an American Bison, commonly referred to as a buffalo (although it's actually not a buffalo), with the denomination of "FIVE CENTS" underneath, as well as "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" along the top edge, and the motto "E PLURIBUS UNUM" just above the buffalo's (bison's) lower back.
Fraser discussed his design in a 1947 radio interview:
"Well, when I was asked to do a nickel, I felt I wanted to do something totally American—a coin that could not be mistaken for any other country's coin. It occurred to me that the buffalo, as part of our western background, was 100% American, and that our North American Indian fitted into the picture perfectly."
In 2001, the design was selected for a commemorative silver dollar coin. 500,000 coins were minted, and sold out in just a few weeks.
In 2006, a modified version of Fraser's design was used for American Buffalo gold bullion coins. This was the first time the United States Government minted pure .9999 24-karat gold coins for the public. These are currently all struck at the West Point Mint.
