DEAR TABBY

DEAR TABBY: I've "spent" a great deal of time trying to find information about Buffalo nickels, but can't seem to find any source I can really "count" on. Can you tell me about the designer of the Buffalo nickels and the identity of the Native American on the front of the coin?  NICKY, BUFFALO, NEW YORK

DEAR NICKY: I can certainly give you my two-cents' worth, or my five-cents' worth! (Of note, the "heads side" of a coin is called the obverse; the "tails side" is called the reverse.) The Buffalo nickel, or Indian Head nickel, was a copper-nickel five-cent piece struck by the United States Mint from 1913 to 1938 (the Liberty nickel had previously been minted from 1883 to 1912). The Buffalo nickel was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser and remains one of the most popular and well-loved coins today. His father, Thomas Fraser, was a railroad engineer and was part of a group sent out to recover the remains of the 7th Cavalry Regiment following the Battle of the Little Bighorn just a few months before James Fraser's birth in Minnesota. At the age of 3, his family moved to Mitchell, South Dakota, where he learned to mold figures of people and animals out of the clay at the local chalkstone query. At the age of 15, his family moved to Chicago, where he was exposed to some of the great artists who had sculptures at the Columbian Exposition.

Fraser modeled the head of the Indian after three chiefs (Iron Tail of the Sioux, Two Moons of the Cheyenne, and John Big Tree of the Seneca nation) who had posed for him years earlier. Two Guns White Calf (son of the last Blackfoot tribal chief) claimed to be a model for the coin. In 1964, Montana Senator Mike Mansfield wrote to the Mint Director, inquiring if Sam Resurrection (a Choctaw Indian), was a model for the nickel.


The first coins to be distributed were given out on February 22, 1913, when President Taft presided at groundbreaking ceremonies for the National American Indian Memorial at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York. A project of department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker, the memorial was never built and instead the site is occupied by an abutment for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (see below). Forty nickels were sent by the Mint for the ceremony; most were distributed to the Native American chiefs who participated.

(left to right) Cheyenne chief Wooden Leg, Cheyenne chief Two Moons, Rodman Wanamaker, Crow chief Plenty Coups, Crow chief Medicine Crow, Crow Indian White Man Runs Him, and Oglala Sioux chief Jack Red Cloud.

The Verrazano-Narrows bridge has been the starting point of the New York City Marathon since 1976. The bridge marks the gateway to New York Harbor, since all cruise ships and most container ships arriving at the Port of New York and New Jersey must pass underneath the bridge. The bridge is affected by weather more than any other bridge in the city because of its size and isolated location close to the open ocean. It is occasionally closed (either partially or entirely) during strong wind and snow storms.

Soon after the first Buffalo Nickels were struck, it became apparent that the reverse design would wear quickly in circulation, particularly the area carrying the inscription of the denomination which was on the highest point of the coin. The design was slightly modified by Charles E. Barber. Type I Buffalo nickels display the words "FIVE CENTS" on the mound upon which the Bison stands on the reverse of the coin. Type I nickels were struck only during the first year of production in 1913.

Type II Buffalo nickels display "FIVE CENTS" in a flattened area below the mound on the reverse. Type II nickels were produced from 1913 right up through to the end of the series.

Mint marks, which designate the U.S. Mint that struck a coin, can be found on the Buffalo nickel just under the words "FIVE CENTS" on the bottom of the reverse side of the coin.

 

In 1938, after the minimum 25–year period (the design could not be replaced without congressional authorization had expired), it was replaced by the Jefferson nickel designed by Felix Schlag. 

 

In a 1947 radio interview, Fraser discussed his design: "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." Despite the sculptor's efforts, he and the Mint continued to receive inquiries about the identity of the Indian model until his 1953 death.

 

In 2001, the design was adopted for use on a commemorative silver dollar (90% silver).

 

In 2006, the Mint began striking American Buffalo gold bullion pieces, using a modification of Fraser's Type I design. This was the first time the government made 99.99% pure coins for investors and collectors.

 

The U.S. Mint in West Point, N.Y. produced the one-ounce coins in both a bullion version for investors and a proof version for collectors (has a finer finish and a higher quality strike). The Mint set the initial price at $800 per proof coin and produced 300,000 of them. Although the face value was $50, the price of the proof coin, which bears the "W" mint mark of the West Point mint, was $800.

In 1915, James Fraser produced his most recognized work, the "End of the Trail." While intended to be cast in bronze, material shortages due to the war prevented this, and the original plaster statue slowly deteriorated until it was obtained by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Musium in 1968 and restored. The restored statue is currently on display in the entryway of the Oklahoma City Museum. 

I know you got your money's worth today; now let's watch Home on the Range - Will the Sun Ever Shine Again?  Since I can't pull up the link by the address, you'll have to click on the link: http://youtu.be/p6m2vmtN2f4