THE BUFFALO NICKEL

The Buffalo nickel, which was produced from 1913 to 1938, was designed by American sculptor James Earle Fraser. It is also known as the Indian Head nickel because of the striking portrait of the Native American warrior on the front.

The portrait is a composite of three American Indians: Iron Tail, Big Tree and Two Moons. Fraser had the opportunity to study and photograph them when they stopped in New York on their way to Washington to visit President Theodore Roosevelt.

The model for the buffalo was a 1500 pound bison named Black Diamond donated by the Barnum and Bailey circus to New York's Bronx Zoo.

Updated by ADAMS KESSLER 1/8/2008