The Buffalo Nickel is one of the best loved American coins. Designed by James Earle Fraser, it was produced between 1913 and 1938. Fraser was a student of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed one of the most beautiful American coins, the $20 Double Eagle. Fraser’s initial “F” appears under the date on the obverse side.

The reverse side of the coin features an America Bison. Black Diamond, a buffalo in New York’s Central Park, was likely the model.

American Buffalo Silver Dollar

The obverse shows a portrait of a Native American Chief. Fraser used several actual chiefs as models — Iron Tail of the Oglala Sioux tribe, Two Moons of the Cheyenne tribe, and Big Tree of the Kiowa tribe. The three performed in Wild West shows in New York City when Fraser was designing the coin.

Fast forward 80+ years. The U.S. Mint decides to produce a coin to commemorate the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution. And a slightly modified version Fraser‘s Buffalo Nickel design was chosen for the coin. On October 27, 2000, President William Clinton signed the law authorizing the creation of the commemorative silver dollar.

Only 500,000 coins were struck. They went on sale on June 1, 2001, and they were sold out by June 21. Originally, the coins sold for $35 apiece but today, proof coins are selling for $250 to $800. A portion of the proceeds from the original sale was used to help supplement the museum’s endowment fund.

American Buffalo Silver Dollar

Buffalo Silver Dollars are 90% silver and 10% alloy, and they weigh 26.73 grams. The uncirculated coins were struck in Denver, and the proof coins were struck in Philadelphia.

The silver dollars are slightly different from the original nickels. The word “Liberty” appears on the obverse to the right of the Chief’s profile. On the reverse, the words “United States of America” and “In God We Trust” appear above the buffalo. And “One Dollar” is visible below.

Coin collectors who jumped on the opportunity and were able to purchase Buffalo Silver Dollars are very glad they did. Especially those who were able to obtain one of the 50,000 American Buffalo Coinage and Currency sets.

If you collect coins, keep tabs on new issues from the U.S. mint.

Read more about collecting silver dollars here.

Photos: U.S. Mint

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Until very recently, the U.S Dollar has been the world’s leading currency.  But that wasn’t always the case.

When the U.S. began doing more trade with Asia in the late 19th-century, the Chinese  preferred the Mexican peso over the U.S. silver dollar because the peso contained more silver – 416 grains versus 412.5 grains.

To conduct business in the Far East, American traders had to exchange their silver dollars for pesos, and then pay a commission for the exchange.

By 1873, the situation had become irksome enough for Congress to pass the Coinage Act of 1873, which authorized the issuance of a new silver dollar that would weigh 420 grains.  Called the U.S. Trade Dollar, it was designed by William Barber and replaced the Seated Liberty Silver Dollar.

The obverse of the coin shows Lady Liberty seated on a bale of cotton in front of a sheaf of wheat.  This not-so-subtle imagery showcased America’s leading crops, and the olive branch in her hand was a gesture of peace.  Liberty faces left, or west, another nod to Asian interests.

To advertise the new dollar’s more generous silver content, the term “420 Grains .900 Fine” is inscribed on the reverse below an eagle clutching a brace of arrows and another olive branch.

Most of the Trade Dollars produced between 1873 and 1875 were circulated in China, where they were an immediate hit.  The coin became the official Chinese trade coin, ousting the Mexican peso once and for all.

Many coins from that period have an Asian chop mark used to verify its authenticity.  Depending on the rareness of the chop mark, this can either add or subtract from their value.

The Comstock Load of 1859 had produced more than $400 million dollars worth of gold and silver.  And silver miners began dumping it into U.S. markets.  By 1876, the price of silver had dropped so far that the silver in the Trade Dollar was barely worth 80 cents.

Most of the coins came back to America where they could at least be traded at face value.  But because the bullion in the coins was worth significantly less, many people were duped by swindlers who bought the coins at bullion prices and then used them as dollars to buy goods or pay workers.

Commercial production of Trade Dollars stopped in 1878, but production of proof coins for collectors was begun in 1879.  These coins were produced in very small quantities.  There were only ten in 1884 and five in 1885.

Produced on the sly, their existence was unknown until 1908.  Consequently, they are some of the rarest U.S. coins in existence.

In 1887, the United States Treasury agreed to redeem non-mutilated trade dollars and more than 8 million were turned in.

Just how valuable are these coins?  In January of 2006, an 1885 PF-66 sold for $3.3 million.

Read more about collecting silver dollars here.

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One of the best loved and most collected American coins, the Morgan Silver Dollar has a fascinating history.

The Comstock Load from Virginia City, Nevada, was first made public in 1859.  It produced more than $400 million dollars worth of silver and gold, and drove the price of silver way down.

So much so that in 1878, the Bland-Allison Act required the U.S. Treasury to purchase $2 to $4 million worth of silver bullion each month to convert into coins.

The Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, George T. Morgan, designed what is now known as the Morgan Silver Dollar.   The elegance and timelessness of the design has made it one of the most popular American coins.  And today, Morgan Silver Dollars run the gamut from affordable to extremely valuable.

In 1890, the Hayes Administration passed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which set the monthly commitment at $4.5 million.  Treasury Bills that could be redeemed for either gold or silver were used for the purchase.

So many bond holders redeemed their notes for gold that the Treasury’s reserves were seriously depleted, and financial panic ensued.  In 1893, the Sherman Act was repealed and production of silver dollars slowed dramatically.

Once the bullion supply for silver dollars basically ran out in 1904, minting of silver dollars ceased.

The Pittman Act of 1918 required the government to convert silver dollars into bullion and then create an equal number of new coins from the bullion.  More than 270 million silver dollars were melted down.

To comply with the Pittman Act, production of the Morgan Silver Dollar resumed in 1921 for a brief period of time.  You’d think that would be the end of the story, but it’s not.

The Silver Act of 1942 resulted in the melting down of even more Morgan Silver Dollars.  In fact, it’s estimated that more than 80% of the Morgan Silver Dollars that were produced are no longer in existence.  That’s why even coins with an original issue of over one million can still be valuable.

In 1962, with a surplus of silver dollars on their hands, the U.S. government began selling original Treasury bags containing 1,000 silver dollars for face value.   News stories about rare coins being included in the bags reignited interest in collecting Morgan Silver Dollars.

But when lots of the formerly rare uncirculated 1903-O coins were released, their value went from $500 to $35 in a matter of months.

During the early 1970s, the General Services Administration packaged and sold off most of the remaining government-owned Morgans, many of which were minted in Carson City.  Morgan Silver Dollars in the original GSA packaging are very collectible.

Probably the most valuable Morgan Silver Dollar is the 1893 proof minted in San Francisco, which is worth more than $1 million.  The 1893-O proof is worth more than $300,000.  The 1895-O and 1896-O MS-67s are worth around half a million.Other sought-after coins include anything minted in Carson City, especially 1889 – which is worth about $500,000 – and the 1892, 1895, 1903, and 1904 coins from San Francisco.

Read more about Peace silver dollars here.

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