48
|
Three Cent Pieces
P
ERFECT
1936 B
UFFALO
N
ICKEL
. T
YPE
1
255
1936. Type 1
.
PCGS graded Proof 68
. Well struck and
brilliant. Only 4,420 minted. A satiny gem with richly
imbued luster that graces the frosty nickel-bright sheen of
the surfaces. 100% boldly struck for the date, indeed,
about as fine a Proof as is ever found. James Earle Fraser
would have loved this one! Type 1 survivors are a bit rarer
than those of their identically dated Type 2 counterpart
because the satin-finish specimens did not ring a favorable
chord among contemporary collectors who remembered
the bright, mirror-finish Barber coinages of their parents’
day. This is certainly one of the most exceptional Proof
1936 Type 1 Nickels extant.
Pop 32; 1 finer in 69
.
(
PCGS # 3994
)
Estimated Value ........................................ $8,500 - 9,000
W
ONDERFUL
1936 B
UFFALO
N
ICKEL
. T
YPE
1
256
1936. Type 1 Satin
.
NGC graded Proof 68
. Only 4,420
minted. Nice light even toning and boldly struck.
Pop 26; 2
finer in 68 Star
. (
PCGS # 3994
)
Estimated Value ........................................ $5,500 - 6,000
T
IED
F
OR
F
INEST
1937 B
UFFALO
N
ICKEL
257
1937
.
PCGS graded MS-68
. Mostly untoned with a hint
of light tone. A wonderful coin. Tied for Finest. It appears
that even the artist who designed this piece, James Earle
Fraser, preferred the familiar term “buffalo” to the more
zoologically correct bison. Semantics aside, the model for
the nickel’s reverse is known to have been a bull named
Black Diamond. This animal was then a resident of New
York City’s Central Park Zoo and was already about seven-
teen years old at the time. Fraser’s own correspondence
reveals his exasperation in attempting to keep this beast
posed in profile as depicted on the coin. Evidently quite
uncooperative, it insisted on confronting the artist head on
and would return to this stance immediately after being
corrected.
Black Diamond has occasionally been cited as the model for
the $10 United States Note of 1901, the so-called “buffalo
bill.” This attribution is incorrect, as the greenback actually
portrays Pablo, a star attraction at the National Zoo in
Washington, D.C. This mistaken identity is understandable,
as the $10 note was in use alongside the nickel through the
late 1920s. (For a detailed account of this fascinating coin,
see David W. Lange’s The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nick-
els.)
Pop 6; none finer at PCGS
. (
PCGS # 3980
)
Estimated Value ............................................ $15,000-UP
G
EM
P
ROOF
1937 B
UFFALO
N
ICKEL
258
1937
.
PCGS graded Proof 68
. Superb and fully brilliant
without any toning. Only 5,769 minted. The reverse of Fra-
ser's five-cent piece is memorable in its profile view of a
bison bull. In recalling this particular work, James Earle Fra-
ser spoke of its unique character: "My first objective was to
produce a coin which was truly American, and that could
not be confused with the currency of any other country. I
made sure, therefore, to use none of the attributes that
other nations had used in the past. And, in my search for
symbols, I found no motif within the boundaries of the
United States so distinctive as the American buffalo."
Pop
17; 1 finer in 69
. (
PCGS # 3996
)
Estimated Value .................................... $10,000 - 11,000
