The Buffalo nickel or Indian Head nickel is a copper-nickel five-cent piece that was struck by the United States Mint from 1913 to 1938. It was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser. In 1938, after the expiration of the minimum 25-year period during which the design could not be replaced without congressional authorization, it was replaced by the Jefferson nickel.
About Buffalo nickel in brief
The Buffalo nickel or Indian Head nickel is a copper-nickel five-cent piece that was struck by the United States Mint from 1913 to 1938. It was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser. In 1938, after the expiration of the minimum 25-year period during which the design could not be replaced without congressional authorization, it was replaced by the Jefferson nickel. Fraser’s design is admired today, and has been used on commemorative coins and the gold American Buffalo series. In 1883, the Liberty Head nickel was issued, featuring designs by Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber. The similarity in size with the half eagle allowed criminals to gild the new nickels and pass them as five dollar coins. President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 expressed his dissatisfaction with the artistic state of the American coinage, and hoped to hire sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign all the coins. In 1909, Mint Director Frank Leach instructed Barber to make pattern coins for newNickels. Most of these coins featured the first president, George Washington. The project was discontinued when Leach left office on November 1, 1909, to be replaced by Abram Andrew. Andrew was dissatisfied with the just-issued Lincoln cent, and considered seeking congressional authorization to replace the cent with a design by Fraser. While the change in the cent did not occur, according to numismatic historian Roger Burdette, \”Fraser’s enthusiasm eventually led to adoption of the Buffalo nickel in December 1912\”.
On May 4, 1911, Eames MacVeagh, son of Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVegh, wrote to his father: A little matter that seems to have been overlooked by all of you is the opportunity to beautify the design of the nickel or five cent piece during your administration, and it seems to me that it would be a permanent souvenir of a most attractive sort. As possibly you are aware, it is the only coinage design of which you can change during your Administration, as I believe there is a law to the effect that the designs must not be changed every twenty years. I should also think it might be the coin of which the greatest numbers are in circulation. Soon after, Andrew announced that the Mint would be soliciting new designs for the nickel, and Fraser developed a design featuring a Native American on one side and a bison on the other. The new director, George Roberts, who had replaced the Mint’s George Roberts in July 1911, produced concepts and designs rapidly. The designs were approved in 1912, but were delayed several months because of objections from the Hobbs Manufacturing Company, which made mechanisms to detect slugs in nickel-operated machines. Despite attempts by the Mint to adjust the design, the coins proved to strike indistinctly, and to be subject to wear—the dates were easily worn away in circulation in circulation. The Mint continued to strike the Liberty head nickel in large numbers through the first decade of the 20th century.
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This page is based on the article Buffalo nickel published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
