I

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faces.

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______

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Liberty about 100 Head Liberty Not Lyon American

up Barber had hand cabulary tive deeply sive age (an bold

THE

In

years, well

masses so

metals, American Fraser’s exception general, it—the

and cent

to Pratt,

States with

NUMISMATIST quarter cut nickel on design to

hand.

of

Liberty

man. alive.

(1859-1909) of the

the image,

of

detail images

Fraser’s

as

his HE ica’s

the stunning

coinage

female

United delicate

(1883-1912) rigors By

nickel and coinage By Indian

is (1839-91) Buffalo

Of

Buffalo and

tough, had INDIAN

that

Barber’s best-designed contrast, is

the

on

the course,

work.

rugged.

symbols

of

been is

had was curls the and sturdy

time

buffalo carried

designed substantially States circulation.

Head

copper-nickel nickel

Capped were not undergone yet

• Like

embodied

some design Fraser’s and and HEAD, the America’s

Even MAY

of

practical

easily

(or, a

composition

swirls Buffalo decidedly the Mercury clearly

coins. nickel Liberty

coin. strong,

allowance by

Bust

in

for more

1997

gold artistic On

worn

or

harder Charles

grades by

that a James

5-cent medium

half

Buffalo, nickel

presented alloy the subtle

a yet

on half correctly, a

dime

away. woman. feminine. paled

favorite

effort dollar

Morgan

and must U.S. less

female,

Earle

and Barber

combined

piece, was

change.

(1916-45), of The make

nickel more as than Coin

coinage had quarter (1807-39) be

commerce.

There

introduced the Liberty

bison)

Fraser’s

portrait. Longacre’s

coin, dollar

which was made

Fine, among

a

durable

coins

may James

For

fundamental

to

was

eagles androgynous. remain have

with

Miss

(1878-1921), both for

as

more produce

motif did and be passed

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no

in

than a

its not the Amer

not of Seated Liberty Native Indian the

doubt

1913,

expres

broad, than

and

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from held coin silver

Na

take

vo

a you’ll IF

face

good

three the chin; top the where elevated cial the at rim date are

falo’s is the The and lowef is stand a CENTS mnens.) YOU might like a tected have plays The

rio a ing the on the immediate through bison a face, of Fraser

portrait

level characteristics. clear, is

is advantage

“Buff Grousing hull. buffalo’s between planes. has

shaggy

surprise obverse

the the the mouth the find

worn legend in unmistakable.

up grades, fact reverse

been

much

and he

been 1-lowever, LOOK standing within mound plane

The and head. high were fourth 1883 to seems

nick”

susceptihie wear always

that

The

head

the . flat, commercial

necessary—a is

the of wiped the of “F Vurni.rniatist right shoulder

. that about of

the relief has

Liberty on exposed. The is

an .

nose, the Fraser’s and plane, in

to the to the the lowest

Pluribus

still feathers face on the at

the

the displays buffalo perhaps No Fraser’s government

exergue.

About of mere have

FIVE

out. second new of

alloy). the a

legend

letters a

dominate

is eyes, second-lowest

realistic, the middle

matter feathers to Head well the

and

unmistakable. “Buff is

(These mark Even circulation. Buffalo

coins been

ridges

CENTS

alteration and

LTnumn” Type has Indian’s represented

of Good some Indian’s

six,

5—cent

mouth

protected plane

the

(Time LIBERTY

are

nickel),

May

how

of the no so,

confident and is distinct

officials, raised

the

on nick” have coin’s

I expression. nickel

very value an

grade,

horn the denomination.) includes

neck; and piece nickel

was and

worn face [913, the design. hair

and back

11 unwritten and

The

plane,

ordered

come feathers niound,

by

small,

cur is by planes. crowded. rim chin. is surface.” or

and protects braid

was experience perhaps you’ll and in

passed

that a

in the gone, composed

W.H. first of

the

1q97 rail,

into specimen

and the

while

protect

to only

If About below

the the The above

surrounding

will a

the and upon nickels fields

you right The

he but front

find

revised little the

and are

as

DeSchon

subject (1-lowever. his fearing

“This head,

Good its

• most nickel-alloy known

braid soon

a look

its the

depth the buf

which indicates the of the of the rHa fa to

eve doubt of

$5 is, clear,

off Good

powerful

all

coin

fault,

condition dollar deeper

of the

reduce

the

as

collectors, of

metal.

the \J[’li]S,li complained

remains criticism.

this (Type (lenominarlon Type

the press and

together this

words

coin As grade,

coin it

4

shoulders levels.

is coin,

the “the

was the Overa[l.

may a showed still I not the II)

would that

(much

speci kid

SO

FiVE

words

Writ

ITIST

Buffalo

with the pro

one

what with

dis In

that not

it

influence

it

...S.,,

in

is

“Cqwboys

the

with

S

nickel

*5.y5.55

‘50s,

falo Type

the

from

atop

better

guy.” I

I

.

nickels always —BOB and

TV.

—

a

.

raised

I

Indians”

think than

picture

FRITSCH

liked

Actual

mound.

Size:

the

21.21mm

buf

503

I • • COLLECTORS HAVING THE patience to seek out Fine to Extremely Fine examples will be rewarded with a stunning array of attractive, reasoflal)1Vpriced coins.

happened to circulated coins, as the legend was protected by the rim and the buffalo’sshoulder.) Supporting the contention that the Buffalo nickel stands up well to abuse are the two details important to determining the grade of the coin: the buffalo’sseemingly insignificant born and tail. The animal’sshoulder is the highest surface and the first spot to show wear. Yet, the amount of woo] remaining in this area is not considered when judging a coin’s con dition. As such, even low- or middle-grade coins are visually power ful and compelling. As the coin deteriorated in circulation, the depths of its obverse and reverse designs acquired an attractive, hard black ness, offsetting the otherwise uniform grey of its surfaces. The Buffalo

ActualSize:21.21mm nickel’s copper-nickel alloy is not nearly as reactive as silver or hronae. In EveninAbout Good condition, this series, toning generally is subtle and found most often on coins of the features of a Buffalonickel higher grade. stand out loud and clear. These factors have proven to be an asset for hobbyists, as they make collecting an attractive date and mint set of the series an attainable and affordable goal. For most years, the branch mints in Denver and San Francisco struck only a fraction of the Buffalo nickel population; up through America’s Great Depression, “D” and “S” mintusarks appeared on only 5 to 20 percent of 5-cent coins. As a result, mint-state examples from these outlets are pricey. However, collectors having the patience to seek out Fine to Extremely Fine examples will be re warded with a stunning array of attractive, reasonably priced coins. How much of the Buffalo nickel’s successwas part of Fraser’s plan and how much was luck, we may never The Buffalonickelisperhaps know. It is important, however, not to underestimate one ofour mostdesirable,yet the artist’s insight. Consider his famous sculpture, End of the Trail, which is so compelling that it is almost overlooked,coins.Asinterestin overdone. Yet, like the Parthenon, 2,500 years of expo sure to the elements will never wear away its essential it grows,Iforeseean explosive geometry. Though of different fabric and design, the Buffalo nickel has the same stark, enduring lines. numberofnewvarietiessurfacing. The Thomas Jefferson commemorative 5-cent piece, —LOUCOLES designed by Felix Schlag, replaced the Buffalonickel in 1938. Yet, after 60 years, Fraser’s coin still is the object of great attention, perhaps because of its durability and distinctly American flavor. contznuc1 on page 539

504 THE NUMISMATIST • MA)’ 1997

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For

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