Gold Buffalo Tribute
Tribute reproduction, not legal tender. American Collectors Mint is not affiliated with the United States Government in any way. The United States Government does not sponsor or endorse these products.
A tribute to James Earle Fraser's Buffalo design, first struck on the 1913 nickel: a Native American profile on one side and an American bison on the other.
- Gold-tone finish
- No denomination, not legal tender
- Protective capsule, gift box and specification card
- Free shipping on 5 or more tributes (U.S. only)
- Free shipping on 5+ tributes Delivered by USPS with tracking (U.S. only).
- Arrives damaged? We make it right Replacement or refund within 30 days of delivery.
- 14-day returns On unopened items in their original packaging.
- Gift-ready Protective capsule, gift box and specification card.
The story behind the design
Gold Buffalo
The Buffalo design was created by sculptor James Earle Fraser for the five-cent piece, the "Buffalo nickel", which the U.S. Mint struck from 1913 to 1938. Fraser wanted a coin that was unmistakably American, and he chose two subjects from the American West.
The front shows a Native American in profile. Fraser said it was a composite portrait, drawn from several Native American men who sat for him. The back shows an American bison standing on a mound. It is often said to have been modeled on Black Diamond, a bison that lived at New York's Central Park Zoo.
The design is still one of the best-loved in American coinage. In 2006 the U.S. Mint brought it back, almost unchanged, for its American Buffalo gold coin, the first 24-karat gold coin it had ever issued.
Our Gold Buffalo tribute recreates both sides of Fraser's design as a collectible replica with a gold-tone finish.
The original design
The coin that inspired this tribute
2013-W American Gold Buffalo, 1 oz proof, shown for reference only. This is not the item you receive: your tribute is a replica with a gold-tone finish, and it has no denomination.
Photos: U.S. Mint, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
