The designer: James Earle Fraser
James Earle Fraser was an American sculptor born in 1876 in Minnesota and trained under Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the dominant American sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th century. Fraser's earlier work included the End of the Trail sculpture, depicting an exhausted Indigenous warrior slumped on a horse, which became one of the most widely reproduced images of the Indian Wars period. Fraser was therefore an obvious choice for a coin design intended to commemorate the American West and the species and peoples that had historically occupied it.
Fraser was commissioned to design the new five-cent coin in 1911 as part of the broader US Mint coinage redesign programme of the early 20th century. President Theodore Roosevelt had initiated the redesign programme during his presidency, motivated by his view that US coin design had fallen behind the artistic standard of European coinage. Roosevelt's intervention produced the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle ($20 gold piece) and the Indian Head Eagle ($10 gold piece) in 1907, the Lincoln Cent in 1909, and laid the groundwork for the Buffalo Nickel that came in 1913, by which time Roosevelt was no longer in office but his redesign initiative was still working through the Mint's denominations.
The bison on the reverse
The reverse of the Buffalo Nickel depicts a single large bull bison standing in profile, facing left, with the legend "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" along the upper rim, "E PLURIBUS UNUM" along the right side, and "FIVE CENTS" along the lower rim. The bison is rendered with high fidelity to the actual animal: the massive shoulder hump, the heavy beard, the woolly forequarter cape, the upward-curving horns, and the proportional contrast between front-loaded forequarters and lighter hindquarters all reflect a sculptor who had studied the species closely.
Two main reverse varieties exist. The 1913 Type 1 (the original release) shows the bison standing on a raised mound; the 1913 Type 2 (released later the same year) shows the bison standing on a flat plain with the "FIVE CENTS" denomination in a recessed area below. The Type 2 modification was made to address rapid wear of the mound-and-denomination area in circulation. All subsequent years 1913-1938 use the Type 2 reverse design.
The Black Diamond question
The model for Fraser's bison is conventionally identified as Black Diamond, a large bull bison kept at the New York Zoological Park (the Bronx Zoo) from 1893 until his death in 1915. Black Diamond was famous in his own right: he was one of the largest captive bison in the United States at the time and was a regular subject of public photography and zoo promotion. He was also a relatively old animal by the time Fraser was working on the coin design, and the modelling sessions allegedly took place at the Bronx Zoo with Black Diamond as the principal subject.
Fraser himself later complicated the story. In a 1947 letter Fraser stated he had not been able to remember which specific bison he used and that he may have drawn from multiple bison sketches taken at various zoos and at the Central Park Menagerie. The Black Diamond identification persists in popular accounts of the coin because the Bronx Zoo bison was the most plausible specific candidate, but the historical record is not as definitive as the popular story suggests. What is certain is that the bison was a real captive animal of the late-19th-century conservation network rather than a wild bison in the field.
Black Diamond died at the Bronx Zoo in 1915 and his hide was sold to a New York meat dealer (the practice of the period was to convert deceased zoo animals into commercial products where possible). The skull was eventually preserved and is held in a museum collection. The animal's connection to the Buffalo Nickel design contributed to his posthumous fame and is still cited in historical bison conservation literature as an example of the cultural footprint of the early 20th century captive bison network.
The Indigenous portrait on the obverse
The obverse of the Buffalo Nickel shows a Native American man in profile, with the date along the lower rim, the word "LIBERTY" along the right side, and no denomination (the value is on the reverse). The portrait is widely admired as one of the most dignified and humanising Indigenous portrayals in American coinage history.
Fraser's stated method for the obverse was a composite of three Indigenous models who sat for him during the design period: Iron Tail (a Lakota chief), Two Moons (a Northern Cheyenne chief), and a third individual variously identified in the literature as Big Tree, John Two Guns White Calf, or other candidates. Fraser intended the portrait as a generic representation of the Indigenous Plains nations rather than a specific portrait of any one individual. The historical record on the third model is less clear than the identification of Iron Tail and Two Moons.
The portrait's reception within Indigenous communities has been mixed. The dignified rendering and the prominence of the design have been positively received by some. The use of generic Indigenous imagery on US currency, against the historical context of the dispossession of the Plains peoples and the deliberate destruction of the bison population that supported their economies, has been critically discussed by other commentators. The coin's position in the cultural history of US-Indigenous relations is complicated.
Production history and rare varieties
The Buffalo Nickel was minted at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints from 1913 to 1938. Total mintage across the 26-year run was several billion coins. The series has produced a number of significant collectible varieties that command premium prices in numismatic markets.
The 1913-S Type 2 (the San Francisco mint Type 2 issue of the first year) is the lowest-mintage regular issue of the series and is consequently the most valuable common-date coin in the run. The 1916 doubled die obverse, where the date and other obverse elements show clear doubling from a die-pressing error, is one of the most famous error coins in US numismatics. The 1918/7-D overdate, where a 1917 die was repunched with 1918 producing a visible "8 over 7" date, is another major rarity. The 1937-D three-legged buffalo (a die polishing error that removed most of one of the bison's front legs from the design) is one of the most popular collectible varieties in the series.
Beyond the rare varieties, common-date Buffalo Nickels in circulated condition trade in modest dollar amounts (typically $1 to $5 each). Better-condition certified examples and key dates can trade for hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. The series remains popular with collectors and the coin's distinctive design is one of the more recognisable American numismatic icons.
End of the series and the Jefferson Nickel
The Buffalo Nickel was replaced in 1938 by the Jefferson Nickel, designed by Felix Schlag. The replacement was driven by a combination of factors. The US Mint had complained throughout the series' production about the difficulty of striking the Buffalo design: the high relief of the bison and the Indigenous portrait produced rapid die wear and required more frequent die replacements than simpler designs. The standard US Mint rule allowed coin designs to be replaced after 25 years without congressional approval, and the Buffalo Nickel reached that threshold in 1938. The change was also part of a broader commemorative push for the bicentennial of Thomas Jefferson's birth in 1943.
The retirement of the Buffalo Nickel was somewhat controversial. The coin had become beloved during its quarter-century in circulation and was widely regarded as artistically superior to the simpler Jefferson design that replaced it. Modern numismatic opinion generally agrees: the Buffalo Nickel is consistently ranked among the most artistically successful US coins of the 20th century and is one of the small number of pre-war US designs that has been actively revived for modern commemorative use.
The American Buffalo gold and silver bullion coins
The Buffalo Nickel design has been revived for the American Buffalo gold and silver bullion coins minted by the US Mint since the 2000s. The American Buffalo gold coin, introduced in 2006, is a one-ounce 24-karat gold bullion coin that reproduces Fraser's original Buffalo Nickel design at a much larger scale and in higher relief. The American Buffalo silver bullion coin has been issued in various proof and commemorative forms.
The bullion coins have been commercially successful and have brought Fraser's design back into wide circulation among collectors and investors. The decision to use the Buffalo Nickel design rather than a new design for the US Mint's premier gold bullion product was a recognition of the original's standing in American numismatic and visual culture. The design has aged well and remains as visually distinctive at one-ounce gold scale as it was at five-cent nickel scale.
The naming question
The coin's universal name as the "Buffalo Nickel" rather than the "Bison Nickel" reflects the broader American English vernacular use of "buffalo" for the American bison. Throughout the period the coin was designed and circulated (1911-1938), the American public referred to the species as buffalo essentially without exception. The taxonomically correct term "bison" was used in scientific publications and museum labels but had no traction in popular speech. The coin was therefore named for the species the public knew rather than the species the taxonomists recognised.
The same naming pattern produced the Buffalo NY city name, the Buffalo Bill Western persona, the Buffalo Bills NFL team name, the Buffalo Wings dish, and countless other "buffalo" usages where the actual referent (when there is one) is the American bison. The Buffalo Nickel is one entry in a much longer list of American English buffalo-for-bison naming examples and is one of the more visible because of the coin's wide circulation.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see an original Buffalo Nickel today?
Common-date worn Buffalo Nickels are easily available from coin dealers, online marketplaces, and antique shops. Prices for circulated common-date examples are typically a few dollars. Coin shops and numismatic shows are the most reliable venues. Higher-grade and rare-date examples are sold through specialist numismatic auctions.
Are Buffalo Nickels still legal tender?
Yes. Buffalo Nickels remain legal tender for five cents in the United States, although their numismatic value substantially exceeds the face value and they are essentially never spent at face value. The US Mint has never demonetised any of its 19th or 20th century coinage.
Was the Buffalo Nickel made of pure nickel?
No. The coin was struck in a 75% copper and 25% nickel alloy, the same "nickel" composition used for the five-cent denomination since 1866. The informal name "nickel" reflects the nickel component of the alloy rather than the actual composition.
What is the rarest Buffalo Nickel?
The 1937-D three-legged buffalo variety is the most famous and most collectible, although several earlier error and overdate varieties (1916 doubled die, 1918/7-D overdate) are rarer in absolute terms. The 1913-S Type 2 is the rarest of the regular-issue dates. Authoritative pricing varies year by year with the numismatic market.