where is the mint mark on buffalo nickel
Buffalo nickel - wikipedia Buffalo nickel Buffalo nickel <Td_colspan="2"> United States Value 5 cents (. 05 US dollars ) Mass 5.000 g Diameter 75mm mm ( 0.8350 in ) Edge Plain Composition 75 % copper 25 % nickel Years of minting 1913 -- 1938 Mint marks D , S. Centered under `` FIVE CENTS '' on the reverse . Philadelphia Mint specimens lack mint mark . <Th_colspan="2"> Obverse <Td_colspan="2"> Design Right profile of an American Indian Designer James Earle Fraser Design date 1913 Design discontinued 1938 <Th_colspan="2"> Reverse <Td_colspan="2"> Design An American bison Designer James Earle Fraser Design date 1913 Design discontinued 1913 <Td_colspan="2"> Designer James Earle Fraser Design date 1913 Design discontinued 1938 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 . As part of a drive to beautify the coinage , five denominations of US coins had received new designs between 1907 and 1909 . In 1911 , Taft administration officials decided to replace Charles E. Barber 's Liberty Head design for the nickel , and commissioned Fraser to do the work . They were impressed by Fraser 's designs showing a Native American and an American bison . 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 . The company was not satisfied by changes made in the coin by Fraser , and in February 1913 , Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh decided to issue the coins despite the objections . 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 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 , designed by Felix Schlag . Fraser 's design is admired today , and has been used on commemorative coins and the gold American Buffalo series . Contents 1 Background 2 Inception 2.1 New design 2.2 Hobbs affair 3 Release and production 4 Design , models , and name controversy 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Background ( edit ) In 1883 , the Liberty Head nickel was issued , featuring designs by Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber . After the coin was released , it was modified to add the word `` CENTS '' to the reverse because the similarity in size with the half eagle allowed criminals to gild the new nickels and pass them as five dollar coins . An Act of Congress , passed into law on September 26 , 1890 required that coinage designs not be changed until they had been in use 25 years , unless Congress authorized the change . The act made the current five - cent piece and silver dollar exceptions to the twenty - five year rule ; they were made eligible for immediate redesign . However , the Mint continued to strike the Liberty Head nickel in large numbers through the first decade of the 20th century . 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 . Constrained by the 1890 act , the Mint only hired Saint - Gaudens to redesign the cent and the four gold pieces . Saint - Gaudens , before his 1907 death , designed the eagle and double eagle , which entered circulation that year ; the cent , quarter eagle , and half eagle were designed by other artists and released into circulation by 1909 . By that time , the Liberty Head nickel had been in circulation for more than 25 years , and was eligible for redesign regardless of the special provision . In 1909 , Mint Director Frank Leach instructed Barber to make pattern coins for new nickels . Most of these coins featured the first president , George Washington . The press found out about the pieces , and speculated they would be released into circulation by the end of the year . The Mint received orders from banks in anticipation of the `` Washington nickel '' . However , 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 sculptor James Earle 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 '' . Inception ( edit ) New design ( edit ) Franklin MacVeagh , Secretary of the Treasury under Taft . A letter to him by his son may have been the genesis of the Buffalo nickel . On May 4 , 1911 , Eames MacVeagh , son of Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh 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 coin the 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 oftener than every twenty - five years . I should think also it might be the coin of which the greatest numbers are in circulation . Soon after the MacVeagh letter , Andrew announced that the Mint would be soliciting new designs for the nickel . Fraser , who had been an assistant to Saint - Gaudens , approached the Mint , and rapidly produced concepts and designs . The new Mint director , George Roberts , who had replaced Andrew , initially favored a design featuring assassinated President Abraham Lincoln , but Fraser soon developed a design featuring a Native American on one side and a bison on the other . Andrew and Roberts recommended Fraser to MacVeagh , and in July 1911 , the Secretary approved hiring Fraser to design a new nickel . Official approval was slow in coming ; it was not until January 1912 that MacVeagh asked Roberts to inform Fraser that he had been commissioned . MacVeagh wrote , `` Tell him that of the three sketches which he submitted we would like to use the sketch of the head of the Indian and the sketch of the buffalo . '' Roberts transmitted the news , then followed up with a long list of instructions to the sculptor , in which he noted , `` The motto , ' In God We Trust ' , is not required upon this coin and I presume we are agreed that nothing should be upon it that is not required . '' Fraser completed the models by June 1912 , and prepared coin - size electrotypes . He brought the models and electrotypes to Washington on July 10 , where they met with the enthusiastic agreement of Secretary MacVeagh . Hobbs affair ( edit ) Mint Director George E. Roberts ( shown on his Mint medal ) did his best to bring the nickel to fruition despite the conflict between Fraser and Hobbs . In July 1912 , word of the new design became publicly known , and coin - operated machine manufacturers sought information . Replying to the inquiries , MacVeagh wrote that there would be no change in the diameter , thickness , or weight of the nickel . This satisfied most firms . However , Clarence Hobbs of the Hobbs Manufacturing Company , of Worcester , Massachusetts requested further information . According to Hobbs , his firm was the manufacturer of a device which would detect counterfeit nickels inserted into vending machines with complete accuracy . Discussions continued for most of the rest of 1912 , with Hobbs demanding various changes to the design , to which the artist was reluctant to agree . When in December 1912 , the Hobbs Company submitted a modified design for the nickel , MacVeagh strongly opposed it . On December 18 , Roberts officially approved Fraser 's design , and the sculptor was authorized to complete and perfect the design , after which he would be paid $2,500 ( US $ 63,400 with inflation ) for his work . On January 7 , 1913 , Fraser 's approved design was used to strike experimental pieces ; the sculptor later wrote that he remembered several of the workmen commenting that the new piece struck more easily than the old . Afterwards , Roberts asked Fraser if the Hobbs Company was content with the design . The sculptor told the Mint director that the firm wanted changes made , and Fraser agreed to meet with them further . Over the following two weeks , Fraser worked with George Reith , the Hobbs Company 's mechanic who had invented the anti-slug device , in an attempt to satisfy the firm 's concerns . On January 20 , Fraser wired the Mint from his studio in New York , announcing that he was submitting a modified design , and explained that the delay was `` caused by working with inventor until he was satisfied '' . The next day , Philadelphia Mint Superintendent John Landis sent Roberts a sample striking of the revised design , stating , `` the only change is in the border , which has been made round and true '' . Clarence W. Hobbs . Objections by his firm delayed the Buffalo nickel for months . Despite the apparent agreement , the Hobbs Company continued to interpose objections . Engraver Barber was asked for his view ; he stated that Reith , who had attended the trial striking , had been given all the time and facilities he had asked for in testing the new pieces , and the mechanic had pronounced himself satisfied . Hobbs Company agent C.U. Carpenter suggested that Reith had been intimidated by the preparations that had already gone into the issue of the modified nickel , `` and , instead of pointing out clearly just what the situation demanded , agreed to adapt our device to the coin more readily that ( sic ) he was warranted in doing '' . On February 3 , Hobbs sent Roberts a lengthy list of changes that he wanted in the coin , and the sculptor was required to attend a conference with Hobbs and Reith . On the fifth , following the conference , which ended with no agreement , Fraser sent MacVeagh a ten - page letter , complaining that his time was being wasted by the Hobbs Company , and appealing to the Secretary to bring the situation to a close . MacVeagh agreed to hold a meeting at his office in Washington on February 14 . When the Hobbs Company requested permission to bring a lawyer , Fraser announced he would be doing the same . The Hobbs Company sought letters of support from the business community , with little success ; Fraser 's efforts to secure support from artists for his position were more fruitful . Barber prepared patterns showing what the nickel would look like if the changes demanded by Hobbs were made . MacVeagh conducted the meeting much like a legal hearing , and issued a letter the following day . The Secretary noted that no other firm had complained , that the Hobbs mechanism had not been widely sold , and that the changes demanded -- a clear space around the rim and the flattening of the Indian 's cheekbone -- would affect the artistic merit of the piece . It is of course true that only the most serious business considerations should stand in the way of the improvement of the coinage , and this particular coin has great claims of its own , because of its special quality . If we should stop new coinage -- which is always allowed every twenty - five years -- for any commercial obstacles less than imperative , we should have to abandon a worthy coinage altogether . This would be a most serious handicap to the art of the Nation , for scarcely any form of art is more influential than an artistic coin , where the coin is widely circulated . You will please , therefore , proceed with the coinage of the new nickel . After he issued his decision , MacVeagh learned that the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Company , which Hobbs claimed had enthusiastically received his device , was actually removing it from service as unsatisfactory . The Secretary 's decision did not end the Hobbs Company efforts , as the firm appealed to President Taft . With only two weeks remaining in his term , the President was not minded to stop the new nickel ( production of which had started on February 18 ) and MacVeagh wrote to Taft 's secretary , Charles D. Hilles , `` Certainly Hobbs got all the time and attention out of this administration that any administration could afford to give to one manufacturing corporation . '' Numismatic historian and coin dealer Q. David Bowers describes the Hobbs matter as `` much ado about nothing from a company whose devices did not work well even with the Liberty Head nickels '' . Release and production ( edit ) A dateless coin , showing the effects of circulation on the Buffalo nickel . This is a Type II reverse . The first coins to be distributed were given out on February 22 , 1913 , when Taft presided at groundbreaking ceremonies for the National American Indian Memorial at Fort Wadsworth , Staten Island , New York . The memorial , a project of department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker , was never built , and today the site is occupied by an abutment for the Verrazano - Narrows Bridge . Forty nickels were sent by the Mint for the ceremony ; most were distributed to the Native American chiefs who participated . Payment for Fraser 's work was approved on March 3 , 1913 , the final full day of the Taft administration . In addition to the $2,500 agreed upon , Fraser received $666.15 ( US $ 16,500 with inflation ) for extra work and expenses through February 14 . The coins were officially released to circulation on March 4 , 1913 , and quickly gained positive comments as depicting truly American themes . However , The New York Times stated in an editorial that `` The new ' nickel ' is a striking example of what a coin intended for wide circulation should not be ... ( it ) is not pleasing to look at when new and shiny , and will be an abomination when old and dull . '' The Numismatist , in March and May 1913 editorials , gave the new coin a lukewarm review , suggesting that the Indian 's head be reduced in size and the bison be eliminated from the reverse . With the coin now in production , Barber monitored the rate at which dies were expended , as it was the responsibility of his Engraver 's Department to supply all three mints with working dies . On March 11 , 1913 , he wrote to Landis that the dies were being used up three times faster than with the Liberty Head nickel . His department was straining to produce enough new dies to meet production . In addition , the date and denomination were the points on the coin most subject to wear , and Landis feared the value on the coin would be worn away . Barber made proposed revisions , which Fraser approved after being sent samples . These changes enlarged the legend `` FIVE CENTS '' and changed the ground on which the bison stands from a hill to flat ground . According to data compiled by numismatic historian David Lange from the National Archives , the changes to what are known as Type II nickels ( with the originals Type I ) actually decreased the die life . The new Treasury Secretary , William G. McAdoo , wanted further changes in the coin , but Fraser had moved on to other projects and was uninterested in revisiting the nickel . The thickness of the numerals in the date was gradually increased , making them more durable ; however the problem was never addressed with complete success , and even many later - date Buffalo nickels have the date worn away . The Buffalo nickel saw minor changes to the design in 1916 . The word `` LIBERTY '' was given more emphasis and moved slightly ; however many Denver and San Francisco issues of the 1920s exhibit weak striking of the word , the Denver issue of 1926 especially ; Bowers questions whether any change was made to the portrait of the Indian , though Walter Breen in his reference work on United States coins states that Barber made the Indian 's nose slightly longer . According to Breen , however , none of these modifications helped , with the coin rarely found well - struck and with the design subject to considerable wear throughout the remainder of its run . The bison 's horn and tail also posed striking problems , again with the Denver and San Francisco issues of the 1920s in general , and 1926 - D in particular , showing the greatest propensity for these deficiencies . The piece was struck by the tens of millions , at all three mints ( Philadelphia , Denver and San Francisco ) , through the remainder of the 1910s . In 1921 , a recession began , and no nickels at all were struck the following year . The low mintage for the series was the 1926 - S , at 970,000 -- the only date - mint combination with a mintage of less than 1 million . The second lowest mintage for the series came with the 1931 nickel struck at the San Francisco Mint . The 1931 - S was minted in a quantity of 194,000 early in the year . There was no need for more to be struck , but Acting Mint Director Mary Margaret O'Reilly asked the San Francisco Mint to strike more so that the pieces would not be hoarded . Using materials on hand , including the melting down of worn - out nickels , San Francisco found enough metal to strike 1,000,000 more pieces . Large quantities were saved in the hope they would become valuable , and the coin is not particularly rare today despite the low mintage . A well - known variety in the series is the 1937 -- D `` three - legged '' nickel , on which one of the buffalo 's legs is missing . Breen relates that this variety was caused by a pressman , Mr. Young , at the Denver Mint , who in seeking to remove marks from a reverse die ( caused by the dies making contact with each other ) , accidentally removed or greatly weakened one of the animal 's legs . By the time Mint inspectors discovered and condemned the die , thousands of pieces had been struck and mixed with other coins . Another variety is the 1938 - D / S , caused by dies bearing an `` S '' mintmark being repunched with a `` D '' and used to strike coins at Denver . While the actual course of events is uncertain , Bowers is convinced that the variety was created because Buffalo nickel dies intended for the San Francisco mint were repunched with the `` D '' and sent to Denver so they would not be wasted -- no San Francisco Buffalo nickels were struck in 1938 , but they were produced at Denver , and it was already known that a new design would be introduced . The 1938 - D / S was the first repunched mintmark of any US coin to be discovered , causing great excitement among numismatists when the variety came to light in 1962 . When the Buffalo nickel had been in circulation for the minimum 25 years , it was replaced with little discussion or protest . The problems of die life and weak striking had never been solved , and Mint officials advocated its replacement . In January 1938 , the Mint announced an open competition for a new nickel design , to feature early President Thomas Jefferson on the obverse , and Jefferson 's home , Monticello on the reverse . In April , Felix Schlag was announced as the winner . The last Buffalo nickels were struck in April 1938 , at the Denver Mint , the only mint to strike them that year . On October 3 , 1938 , production of the Jefferson nickel began , and they were released into circulation on November 15 . Design , models , and name controversy ( edit ) Chief Iron Tail , Oglala Lakota , circa 1912 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 . The visage of the Indian which dominates Fraser 's obverse design was a composite of several Native Americans . Breen noted ( before the advent of the Sacagawea dollar ) that Fraser 's design was the second and last US coin design to feature a realistic portrait of an Indian , after Bela Pratt 's 1908 design for the half eagle and quarter eagle . The identity of the Indians whom Fraser used as models is somewhat uncertain , as Fraser told various and not always consistent stories during the forty years he lived after designing the nickel . In December 1913 , he wrote to Mint Director Roberts that `` ( b ) efore the nickel was made I had done several portraits of Indians , among them Iron Tail , Two Moons , and one or two others , and probably got characteristics from those men in the head on the coins , but my purpose was not to make a portrait but a type . '' Fraser 's design was adapted for a 2001 commemorative silver dollar . The mound is similar to the Type I reverse initially used in 1913 . By 1931 , Two Guns White Calf , son of the last Blackfoot tribal chief , was capitalizing off his claim to be the model for the coin . To try to put an end to the claim , Fraser wrote that he had used three Indians for the piece , including `` Iron Tail , the best Indian head I can remember . The other one was Two Moons , the other I can not recall . '' In 1938 , Fraser stated that the three Indians had been `` Iron Tail , a Sioux , Big Tree , a Kiowa , and Two Moons , a Cheyenne '' . Despite the sculptor 's efforts , he ( and the Mint ) continued to receive inquiries about the identity of the Indian model until his 1953 death . Nevertheless , John Big Tree , a Seneca , claimed to be a model for Fraser 's coin , and made many public appearances as the `` nickel Indian '' until his 1967 death at the age of 90 ( though he sometimes alleged he was over 100 years of age ) . Big Tree was identified as the model for the nickel in wire service reports about his death , and he had appeared in that capacity at the Texas Numismatic Association convention in 1966 . After Big Tree 's death , the Mint stated that he most likely was not one of the models for the nickel . There have been other claimants : in 1964 , Montana Senator Mike Mansfield wrote to Mint Director Eva B. Adams , enquiring if Sam Resurrection , a Choctaw was a model for the nickel . Adams wrote in reply , `` According to our records , the portrait is a composite . There have been many claimants for this honor , all of whom are undoubtedly sincere in the belief that theirs is the one that adorns the nickel . '' Reverse of the American Buffalo gold coins , struck beginning in 2006 According to Fraser , the animal that appears on the reverse is the American bison Black Diamond . In an interview published in the New York Herald on January 27 , 1913 , Fraser was quoted as saying that the animal , which he did not name , was a `` typical and shaggy specimen '' which he found at the Bronx Zoo . Fraser later wrote that the model `` was not a plains buffalo , but none other than Black Diamond , the contrariest animal in the Bronx Zoo . I stood for hours ... He refused point blank to permit me to get side views of him , and stubbornly showed his front face most of the time . '' However , Black Diamond was never at the Bronx Zoo , but instead lived at the Central Park Zoo until he was sold and slaughtered in 1915 . Black Diamond 's mounted head is still extant , and has been exhibited at coin conventions . The placement of Black Diamond 's horns differs considerably from that of the animal on the nickel , leading to doubts that Black Diamond was Fraser 's model . One candidate cited by Bowers is Bronx , a bison who was for many years the herd leader of the bison at the Bronx Zoo . From its inception , the coin was referred to as the `` Buffalo nickel '' , reflecting the American colloquialism for the North American bison . As the piece is 75 % copper and 25 % nickel , prominent numismatist Stuart Mosher objected to the nomenclature in the 1940s , writing that he was `` uncertain why it is called a ' Buffalo nickel ' although the name is preferable to ' Bison copper ' '' . The numismatic publication with the greatest circulation , Coin World , calls it an Indian head nickel , while R.S. Yeoman 's Red Book refers to it as an `` Indian Head or Buffalo type '' . In 2001 , the design was adopted for use on a commemorative silver dollar . In 2006 , the Mint began striking American Buffalo gold bullion pieces , using a modification of Fraser 's Type I design . See also ( edit ) Numismatics portal The Nickel Trophy , an oversized Indian Head nickel awarded to winners of the ( now defunct ) annual football game between the North Dakota State Bison and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux Hobo nickel , artistically carved nickels created during the Great Depression References ( edit ) Jump up ^ Breen 1988 , pp. 252 -- 253 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , p. 149 . Jump up ^ Richardson 1891 , pp. 806 -- 807 , 26 Stat L. 484 , amendment to R.S. § 3510 . Jump up ^ Breen 1988 , p. 255 . Jump up ^ Breen 1988 , p. 573 . ^ Jump up to : Burdette 2007 , pp. 93 -- 97 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 98 . Jump up ^ Taxay 1983 , p. 340 . Jump up ^ Taxay 1983 , pp. 340 -- 342 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 172 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 173 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 174 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , pp. 181 -- 183 . ^ Jump up to : Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project . `` Consumer Price Index ( estimate ) 1800 -- '' . Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis . Retrieved January 2 , 2018 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , pp. 193 -- 194 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , pp. 194 -- 196 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 196 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , pp. 200 -- 201 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 201 . Jump up ^ Taxay 1983 , p. 345 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 204 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 205 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 206 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 207 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , pp. 208 -- 209 . ^ Jump up to : Bowers 2007 , p. 37 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , pp. 211 -- 213 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 210 . ^ Jump up to : Lange 2006 , p. 149 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 214 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , pp. 46 -- 47 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , pp. 252 -- 253 . Jump up ^ Taxay 1983 , p. 346 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 253 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , p. 45 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 255 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 287 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , p. 46 . ^ Jump up to : Breen 1988 , p. 257 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , p. 49 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , p. 115 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , pp. 125 -- 126 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , pp. 127 -- 128 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , p. 129 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , pp. 141 -- 142 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 224 . Jump up ^ Breen 1988 , p. 256 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , pp. 38 -- 39 . ^ Jump up to : Bowers 2007 , p. 39 . Jump up ^ Burdette 2007 , p. 219 . ^ Jump up to : Porterfield 1970 , p. 16 . ^ Jump up to : Burdette 2007 , p. 223 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , p. 38 . Jump up ^ Bowers 2007 , pp. 41 -- 42 . Jump up ^ US Mint , 2001 American Buffalo Commemorative Coins . Jump up ^ US Mint Strikes First Pure Gold U.S. Coins . Bibliography Bowers , Q. David ( 2007 ) . A Guide Book of Buffalo and Jefferson Nickels . Atlanta , Ga. : Whitman Publishing . ISBN 978 - 0 - 7948 - 2008 - 4 . Breen , Walter ( 1988 ) . Walter Breen 's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins . New York , N.Y. : Doubleday . ISBN 978 - 0 - 385 - 14207 - 6 . Burdette , Roger W. ( 2007 ) . Renaissance of American Coinage , 1909 -- 1915 . Great Falls , Va. : Seneca Mill Press . ISBN 978 - 0 - 9768986 - 2 - 7 . Lange , David W. ( 2006 ) . History of the United States Mint and its Coinage . Atlanta , Ga. : Whitman Publishing . ISBN 978 - 0 - 7948 - 1972 - 9 . Taxay , Don ( 1983 ) ( 1966 ) . The U.S. Mint and Coinage ( reprint ed . ) . New York , N.Y. : Sanford J. Durst Numismatic Publications . ISBN 978 - 0 - 915262 - 68 - 7 . Other sources Porterfield , Walden R. ( March 3 , 1970 ) . `` The Billion Dollar Profile '' . The Milwaukee Journal . p. 16 . Retrieved November 21 , 2010 . Richardson , William Allen , ed. ( 1891 ) . Supplement to the revised statutes of the United States . 1 . Washington , D.C. : US Government Printing Office . Retrieved February 13 , 2012 . `` The United States Mint Historical Image Library '' . United States Mint . Retrieved November 21 , 2010 . `` United States Mint Strikes First Pure Gold U.S. Coins for Investors & Collectors '' . United States Mint . June 20 , 2006 . Retrieved November 21 , 2010 . Further reading ( edit ) Van Ryzin , Robert R. `` Which Indian Really Modeled ? Numismatic News Feb. 6 , 1990 Van Ryzin , Robert R. Fascinating Facts , Mysteries & Myths About U.S. Coins , Krause Publications ISBN 978 - 1 - 4402 - 0650 - 4 External links ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buffalo nickels . 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1. Buffalo nickel design
2. James Earle Fraser
3. Hobbs Manufacturing Company controversy
4. Release and production of Buffalo nickel
5. Varieties of Buffalo nickel