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The American Buffalo, or simply Gold Buffalo, is a 24 carat ('karat') one-ounce gold coin struck by the United States Mint. It's design is based on the Indian Head Nickel.
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<div class='featuredimage'><img src='https://coinsnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/Gold-1-Ounce-Buffalo-50-USA-Reverse.jpg' alt='gold-1-ounce-buffalo-50-usa-reverse' /></div><br><div class='imgwithcaption'><img class="size-full wp-image-702" src="https://coinsnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/Gold-1-Ounce-Buffalo-50-USA-Obverse.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="180" /><br> Gold 1 Ounce Buffalo $50 USA Obverse</div><br /> <br /> The <strong>American Buffalo</strong>, or simply <em>Gold Buffalo</em>, is a 24 carat ('karat') one-ounce gold coin struck by the United States Mint. It's design is based on the Indian Head Nickel. The coin is legal tender with a face value of $50. It has been available as Proof and bullion, and in 2013 as a Reverse Proof to celebrate 100th anniversary of the James Earle Fraser design.<br /> <br /> The US Mint had already created a gold coin in 1986, the Gold Eagle, which is 91.67% gold. To compete with other country's pure/fine gold bullion coins (such as the Canadian Gold Maple), the Gold Buffalo was launched in 2006 with a gold content of 99.99%.<br /> <br /> <div class='imgwithcaption'><img class="size-full wp-image-703" src="https://coinsnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/Gold-1-Ounce-Buffalo-50-USA-Reverse.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="176" /><br> Gold 1 Ounce Buffalo $50 USA Reverse</div><br /> <br /> The obverse shows the head of an American Indian and is a modified design of the one created by James Earle Fraser (1876-1953) for the Indian Head (or Buffalo) nickel (Type 1) in 1913. The image is a mixture of three chiefs from different tribes who modeled for Fraser.<br /> <br /> <img class="alignright size-full wp-image-701" src="https://coinsnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/Buffalo-Proof-Mintmark.jpg" alt="buffalo-proof-mintmark" width="180" height="220" /><br>You can see on the coin, just below the head and date, is the letter 'F' for Fraser. On the <em>Proof coins only</em> is a mintmark ('W' for West Point Mint in New York).<br /> <br /> The reverse shows a buffalo (or American bison) standing on a mound, from which the coin gets its nickname.<br /> <br /> Diameter of the 1 ounce coin is 32.7mm and is 2.95mm thick. The edge is reeded.<br /> <br /> In 2006 the coin cost $800 but because of the steep rise in gold the Buffalo was over $2,000 by 2011. Due to this high cost of gold the US Mint introduced fractional sizes in 2008 as $5 (1/10th oz), $10 (1/4 oz) and $25 (1/2 oz) to make the product more affordable. The 2016 Gold Buffalo debut price was $1,590 for the Proof and typically 5% over spot for the bullion coins.<br /> <br /> <em>My thanks to Max Hughes (<a href="https://mjhughescoins.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">M J Hughes Coins</a>) for allowing me to photograph the coin. M J Hughes Coins buys and sells gold coins.</em><br /> <br />
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