Posted 14 years ago
kristin
(14 items)
I was excited to actually see one of these nickels in real life. I might have heard of this kind of nickel but have never held one in my hand until last night. This nickel is one of my favorites because it is so new to my eyes. It is a good thing my dad kept this nickel and hopefully when I have kids I can show them one day.
They call it the Buffalo nickel, but it's actually a bison on the reverse (my local zoo likes to point that out). But you've got to love this nickel. Doesn't it make our current Jefferson nickel seem so dull? Combining a Native American with a bison makes this seem like the most "American" coin we've ever had.
On a historical note, the coin was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser. He modeled the Indian head on the profiles of three chiefs. Those chiefs were said to be Sioux Chief Iron Tail, Cheyenne Chief Two Moons, and Kiowa Chief Big Tree. Both Iron Tail and Two Moons are famous for having fought Custer at Little Big Horn.
Also, a flaw in the design was that the date was placed too high and it is one of the first things to wear away on the coin. So be happy that you can read the date on your coin. There are many "dateless" Buffalo nickels floating around out there.
Thanks for all that information! I don't normally know the differences between the buffalo and the bison but now I can be correct when I talk about.
Is the modeled head a mix of all three chiefs or each head could be different? I wonder which one is the one showing on here?
I am glad I lucked out on the date still being on it. I should get that coin out of the box so it doesn't get messed up any further!
Thanks again for all the information. I will be sure to share this with my dad since this is his collection he is letting me show off after all.
The modeled head is a mix of all three chiefs. The reason I know all this stuff is because I work as a freelance writer and I frequently get assignments to write about coins. A couple of my assignments so far in 2010 were to write about the Buffalo nickel and the Kennedy half dollar (among other coins). So I had to research a lot of the details behind the designs.
It's good to see someone so young interested in historical items, most young adults have no respect for anything these days. All your posts are cool.
Thanks lonewolf! I must say this love for vintage things is pretty new to me. I got into all this stuff this summer. I got really excited though when I was talking to my dad and he whipped out these coins. I always knew my mom had my grandmother's jewelry, but I never knew my dad was collecting coins.
I wish I had more to share!
so do you know why thay stoped making this lets say he was well hung
I had found a buffalo nickle w/ the indian head on the back. the date is worn off, like you said, it is a flaw. But anyways i found it looking through my ex- girlfrirends things, that she had left behind a year or so ago, and she never called and asked for things back. Plus she owes me some money. But to get back to the coin, I would like to know how much it is worth. You can see the united states of america and it and i think it has a E not for sure, but on the back it show's the indian head that is worn down a little, but it does not show where it says 5 cents or the year. Please let me know . Thanks Charlette Kelley e-mail address CHARLETTECI@AOL.COM . It's not capitalized !!!!
correction on that one part. it's my son's ex-girlfriend . sorry about that