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While you would be hard pressed to find a Buffalo nickel in your pocket change nowadays, there is a history to this nickel. The Buffalo nickel took the United States from pre-World War I, through the Great Depression and to the beginning of World War II. Any coins found from circulation are rare, and because of design flaws, most are hard to date without out destroying the integrity of the coin. Before the Buffalo nickel there was Charles Barber’s Liberty Head nickel, which had been in production since 1883. This coin had not been well received, but under the Coinage Act of 1890, a coin’s design could not be changed until after it had been in circulation for at least 25 years, meaning the lackluster Liberty Head had to be used until 1909. In a May 1911 letter from his son to then Secretary of the Treasury, Franklin MacVeagh, it was advised that a new nickel could become “a permanent souvenir of the most attractive sort.” MacVeagh didn’t want to pass up the chance to change the coin. However, MacVeagh completely bypassed Barber, and started looking for a new design and designer. James Earle Fraser was chosen and work began. On March 4, 1913, coins from the first bag to be released into circulation were given to President William Howard Taft and a group of 33 Indian chiefs during the groundbreaking for the National Memorial to the North American Indian located in Fort Wadsworth, New York. Designed by artist James Earle Fraser, the Buffalo nickel features an Indian head profile on the obverse, or front, and the image of a buffalo on the reverse, or back of the coin. Instead of drawing from memory, Fraser used an assemblage of three chiefs, Iron Tail, Two Moons and Chief John Big Tree, who had previously posed for him. Similarly, the bison, Black Diamond, from Central Park Zoo was the model for the reverse. At the time, the words “In God We Trust” were not a requirement of nickels or pennies, and therefore are not seen on the buffalo nickel.

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While you would be hard pressed to find a Buffalo nickel in your pocket change nowadays, there is a history to this nickel. The Buffalo nickel took the United States from pre-World War I, through the Great Depression and to the beginning of World War II. Any coins found from circulation are rare, and because of design flaws, most are hard to date without out destroying the integrity of the coin. Before the Buffalo nickel there was Charles Barber’s Liberty Head nickel, which had been in production since 1883. This coin had not been well received, but under the Coinage Act of 1890, a coin’s design could not be changed until after it had been in circulation for at least 25 years, meaning the lackluster Liberty Head had to be used until 1909. In a May 1911 letter from his son to then Secretary of the Treasury, Franklin MacVeagh, it was advised that a new nickel could become “a permanent souvenir of the most attractive sort.” MacVeagh didn’t want to pass up the chance to change the coin. However, MacVeagh completely bypassed Barber, and started looking for a new design and designer. James Earle Fraser was chosen and work began. On March 4, 1913, coins from the first bag to be released into circulation were given to President William Howard Taft and a group of 33 Indian chiefs during the groundbreaking for the National Memorial to the North American Indian located in Fort Wadsworth, New York. Designed by artist James Earle Fraser, the Buffalo nickel features an Indian head profile on the obverse, or front, and the image of a buffalo on the reverse, or back of the coin. Instead of drawing from memory, Fraser used an assemblage of three chiefs, Iron Tail, Two Moons and Chief John Big Tree, who had previously posed for him. Similarly, the bison, Black Diamond, from Central Park Zoo was the model for the reverse. At the time, the words “In God We Trust” were not a requirement of nickels or pennies, and therefore are not seen on the buffalo nickel.

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The wheat penny is one of the most recognizable American coins. It was the first coin to bear the image of slain president Abraham Lincoln, and was minted from 1909 to 1959. Most of the wheat pennies still in existence are in the hands of private collectors, and some are quite valuable. Other names for the Wheat Penny include Strawpenny, Wheatback and Wheatie. The first wheat pennies replaced the Indian head cent that had replaced the flying eagle image that had adorned the obverse of the coin since 1857. The Lincoln image idea came from artist Victor Brenner as a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday. President Theodore Roosevelt approved the idea and commissioned the creation of the “Lincoln coin” in 1908 for a timely release the following year. The first wheat pennies were struck in 95 copper and 5 percent zinc. While the plain edge and 19mm diameter remained constant, the weight of the coin fluctuated between 2.7 and 3.11 grams. This was the composition of all wheat pennies every year they were produced with one exception. In 1943 the composition of the coin was changed to 100 percent steel with a thin zinc coating because copper was needed for the World War II effort. These coins were poorly made and difficult to use in vending machines. They were very unpopular and the mint returned to the original composition the following year. While the front, or obverse, of the wheat penny bears the profile image of Lincoln, the reverse has stylized wheat stalks around the words “one cent.” Until 1918, the reverse also prominently featured the letters “V.D.B.,” the initials of designer Victor David Brenner. Because Brenner had been paid for the design, many thought the placement of his initials on the penny was in poor taste and they were eventually removed.

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The wheat penny is one of the most recognizable American coins. It was the first coin to bear the image of slain president Abraham Lincoln, and was minted from 1909 to 1959. Most of the wheat pennies still in existence are in the hands of private collectors, and some are quite valuable. Other names for the Wheat Penny include Strawpenny, Wheatback and Wheatie. The first wheat pennies replaced the Indian head cent that had replaced the flying eagle image that had adorned the obverse of the coin since 1857. The Lincoln image idea came from artist Victor Brenner as a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday. President Theodore Roosevelt approved the idea and commissioned the creation of the “Lincoln coin” in 1908 for a timely release the following year. The first wheat pennies were struck in 95 copper and 5 percent zinc. While the plain edge and 19mm diameter remained constant, the weight of the coin fluctuated between 2.7 and 3.11 grams. This was the composition of all wheat pennies every year they were produced with one exception. In 1943 the composition of the coin was changed to 100 percent steel with a thin zinc coating because copper was needed for the World War II effort. These coins were poorly made and difficult to use in vending machines. They were very unpopular and the mint returned to the original composition the following year. While the front, or obverse, of the wheat penny bears the profile image of Lincoln, the reverse has stylized wheat stalks around the words “one cent.” Until 1918, the reverse also prominently featured the letters “V.D.B.,” the initials of designer Victor David Brenner. Because Brenner had been paid for the design, many thought the placement of his initials on the penny was in poor taste and they were eventually removed.
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