Buffalo Nickels

The Buffalo or "Indian Head" Nickel is made of 75% copper and 25% nickel and was produced from 1913-38.  The design pictures a Native American on the "heads" side and an American Bison on the "tails" side, both created by sculptor James Fraser.  The artwork was praised for its high level of detail.  After production began on the new coins, it was discovered dies wore out much faser than earlier Nickels.  Changes were made to the design, including replacing the hill the Bison was standing on with flat ground.  Later, the word "LIBERTY" was also altered slightly to make it more distinct.  Unfortunately, these alterations didn't improve the wear of the dies.  In 1938, the iconic coin was replaced with the Jeffeson Nickel, although Fraser's Bison was used again in 2001 for a commemorative Silver Dollar coin.