Lot #492: Vintage 1935 USA Five Cents - "Buffalo" Nickel - "Indian Head" Nickel

Obverse: Features a powerful profile of an Indigenous American man, facing right. Fraser created this portrait by combining the features of three different chiefs: Iron Tail (Sioux), Two Moons (Cheyenne), and John Big Tree (Seneca). The word LIBERTY is inscribed along the upper right rim, with the date "1935" at the lower left on the shoulder. Reverse: Features an American Bison (buffalo) standing on a mound, facing left. The animal is modeled after "Black Diamond," a famous resident of the Central Park Zoo. The full inscription reads UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM above the buffalo, and FIVE CENTS below the mound. The USA "Buffalo" Nickel, also known as the "Indian Head" Nickel, is a a hallmark of early 20th-century American coinage, and a quintessential piece of American numismatics. Designed by James Earle Fraser, it is celebrated for its rugged, distinctly American imagery that departed from the more traditional, European-style engravings of previous U.S. coinage. The USA Buffalo Nickel was minted continuously from 1913, when it replaced the the "Liberty Head" (or "V") Nickel, until 1938, when it was replaced by the "Jefferson" Nickel, which remains the standard design today. The Buffalo Nickel was a product of the "Renaissance of American Coinage," a movement pushed by President Theodore Roosevelt to make U.S. currency more beautiful and artistically significant. Designed by James Earle Fraser, the coin is famous for its "Indian Head" obverse—a composite portrait of three real Indigenous men—and its American Bison reverse. Because the date was placed on a raised portion of the obverse design (on the Indigenous American's shoulder), it was highly susceptible to friction. Consequently, many Buffalo Nickels today are "dateless," meaning they have been so heavily circulated that the year has been completely rubbed smooth. This "Buffalo" Nickel is therefore somewhat unusual in that the "1935" date is still largely legible. Dimensions: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel. 21.2 mm. 5.0 g. Pickup category timeslot {A}