One of America’s most iconic coin designs of all time is that of the Native American chieftain and the American bison from the Buffalo Nickel. Released in 1913, this design from James Earle Fraser appears on the American Gold Buffalo bullion coin and countless silver rounds. The 2017 5 oz SilverTowne Buffalo Silver Round offers one of the best ways to get that design, and it’s available now from JM Bullion.

Round Highlights:

• Arrives inside of heat-sealed plastic.
• Based upon the Buffalo Nickel design!
• Contains 5 Troy oz of .999 pure silver.
• Obverse features Fraser’s Native American tribal leader.
• Reverse depicts Black Diamond.
• Refined at a SilverTowne in the United States.

James Earle Fraser is a native of Winona, Minnesota, and he was a student of the famed artist and engraver Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the man who designed what is arguably the single-greatest coin design in American history. In the early 20^th century the federal government and US Mint sought to overhaul the 19^th century designs on all American coins. James Earle Fraser was one of several American artists chosen to help the government in its pursuit of modern designs.

Fraser’s Buffalo Nickel was introduced in 1913 and available in circulation through 1938. His design for the nation’s five-cent piece included a depiction of a buffalo, inspired by Black Diamond. The bison was a resident of New York City’s Central Park Zoo at the time. His right-profile image of a Native American chieftain was inspired by a combination of facial features from chieftains alive at the time.

On the obverse of the 2017 5 oz SilverTowne Buffalo Silver Round is the right-profile portrait of the Native American tribal leader Fraser created in 1913. Just as it appeared on the Buffalo Nickel, the SilverTowne round includes the engraving of the word “Liberty,” along with a year of issue in the same spot as the nickel that reads “2017.”

The reverse of the SilverTowne Buffalo Silver Round features the left-profile image of an American bison. Inspired by Black Diamond, this bison appears on a small mound of dirt and is surrounded by engravings from the original nickel. These include the nation of issue, weight, purity, and metal content, as well as the phrase “E Pluribus Unum.”

All 2017 5 oz SilverTowne Buffalo Silver Rounds are products of SilverTowne. A private company that rose humble beginnings in 1949 as a small coin shop in rural Indiana, SilverTowne has become one of the largest and most trusted numismatics dealers in the United States.

We encourage all JM Bullion customers to contact us at 800-276-6508. You can also connect with us online through our live chat and email address.