The 1913 Indian Head, Bison on Mound, 5-cent coin, as issued by the United States Mint, did not represent the designs and finish as sculptor James Earle Fraser had intended for the circulating coins.
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Images courtesy of HeritageAuctions.com. The Indian Head, Bison on Mound 5-cent coin as introduced in 1913 had Fraser's original rough-hewn surfaces smoothed down by Chief Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber as a means to improve coinability and satisfy vending industry concerns. The texture was reduced even more on later issues.
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Sculptor James Earle Fraser's original 1913 Indian Head, Bison on Mound 5-cent coin designs with deep relief were used in 2006 on the American Buffalo 1-ounce .9999 fine gold $50 coin in Uncirculated bullion and Proof versions. Shown is a fractional version, an Uncirculated 2008-W American Buffalo quarter-ounce $10 coin, which has a diameter that nearly matches the 5-cent coin's diameter.
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The designs as seen on the 22-millimeter, Uncirculated 2008-W American Buffalo .9999 fine gold $10 coin more closely resemble what Fraser envisioned on the 21.21-millimeter 5-cent coin.
The gold $10 coin is an extension of the American Buffalo coin program introduced in 2006 under provisions of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. The act called for a pure gold 1-ounce, $50 face value coin bearing Fraser's original designs.
Fractional versions of the 1-ounce coin – half ounce ($25 face value), quarter ounce ($10 face value) and tenth ounce ($5 face value) – were introduced as Uncirculated and Proof coins in 2008.
The U.S. Mint had its engraving staff replicate Fraser's designs using original models from the Mint's archives. The relief and texture of the American Buffalo coins is intended to mimic Fraser's original vision of a 5-cent coin with much deeper relief than was used on the finished circulating coin.
The finished American Buffalo gold $10 coin, nearly identical in diameter to the 5-cent coin, exhibits much sharper and deeper detail in the main obverse design device of the Indian's portrait and the finer elements of his hair and feather ornament, the date, liberty and Fraser's designer initial f.
Since the American Buffalo coin is not used as a circulating coin the date remains sharp, while the date's unprotected position tended to result in rapid wear on circulating coins.
The Bison device on the reverse of the American Buffalo $10 coin is also sharper in detail than on the 1913 5-cent coin. The grassy mound is also crisper, with individual clumps of grass visible.
The devices and fields on both the obverse and reverse of the American Buffalo gold coin appear more chiseled and textured compared to the shallow, flattened features of the Indian Head 5-cent coin.
The surface texture in the fields around the Indian Head and bison devices reproduces the finish Fraser included on his original designs for the coin, as found on the original 1913 coin, but not on later issues.
The Mint engraving staff smoothed the texture somewhat on the 1913 Indian Head, Bison on Plain 5-cent coin and later strikes in the series during the 20th century.
Bringing up relief
One of the prime differences in the execution of the production of the 5-cent coin and the gold $10 coin is the number of strikes used to bring up the relief.
The 5-cent coin was a circulation issue, although Proofs were also struck for collectors. The Uncirculated and Proof American Buffalo $10 coins are struck for collectors.
The Indian Head 5-cent coins would have been produced on vertical presses at the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mints that struck the mechanically fed planchets between the low relief dies once at high pressure and high speed.
The American Buffalo coins are struck on a vertical press at the West Point Mint. Both the Proof and Uncirculated versions of the gold coins are struck three times each at a much slower speed than used for the 5-cent coins. The Indian Head, or obverse die, serves as the hammer die, with the Bison reverse being the anvil die.
The Uncirculated $10 bullion coin has the same Satin Finish that was introduced on the circulating coin denominations in the 2005 Uncirculated Mint sets.
Original designs
According to David W. Lange in The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels, Fraser executed several models of his Indian Head obverse and Bison On Mound Reverse in several heights of relief and delivered them to the Mint. Fraser was selected to redesign the 5-cent denomination on Jan. 12, 1912, by Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh.
Fraser had to deal with objections by Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber and Clarence W. Hobbs, a manufacturer of vending machines that would have to accept the new 5-cent coins. Both individuals sought changes to the relief and mechanical properties of Fraser's designs. Barber wanted changes that he believed would make the coins easier to strike, while Hobbs sought changes that would enable the coins to be used in his vending machines.
With incessant political pressure brought to bear, Fraser subsequently made slight refinements to what were considered his “final” models, although Hobbs was still disturbed by the results.
Mass production of the Indian Head 5-cent coin for circulation began Feb. 17, 1913, at the Philadelphia Mint. However, more drastic changes were ordered shortly after the new coins entered circulation. The additional changes resulted in the Bison on Plain version of the design, with enlarged letters in five cents and flatter ground underneath the bison, changed from a hill or cliff edge to a nearly flat grassland to accommodate the additional height of the letters in the denomination.
The rough fields, seen on both the Bison on Mound 5-cent coin and now the American Buffalo gold coins, was smoothed. Mass production of the 1913 Indian Head, Bison on Plain 5-cent coin for circulation commenced May 9, 1913, at the Philadelphia Mint, and at unknown, later dates at the Denver and San Francisco facilities.
With the release of the American Buffalo $10 fractional gold coins in 2008, collectors can now appreciate Fraser's original artistry.
