American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin

gold buffalo proof was created to compete with the Gold Canadian Maple Leaf. Production of the American Buffalo 24-karat gold coins were authorized by Public Law 109-45 dated December 22, 2005, also referred as the Presidential $1 Coin Act. American Buffalo Proof Coins are the first .9999 minted 24-karat gold coins ever struck by the US Mint.

The American Buffalo Gold coins obverse and reverse designs feature images originally prepared by noted American sculptor James Earle Fraser, once a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, for Americas 5-cent coin (nickel).

The Native American depiction on the coins obverse is believed to be based on three different American Indians. The designer named two of the American Indians who modeled for Fraser as he sculpted the coin before his death. They were known as Chief Iron Tail of the Lakota Sioux and Chief Two Moons of the Cheyenne. Although many have claimed to have had a sitting with Fraser for this design, he could not recall the name of the third person and satisfactory documentation has not yet been found to identify that individual.

In the first year of the coins issuance, 1913, there were two distinct varieties, the first showing the bison on a mound and the second with the base redesigned to a thinner, straight line. American Buffalo Gold Coins bear the original Fraser Type I design. American Buffalo Proof Coins are the first .9999 fine 24-karat gold coins ever struck by the United States Mint. The term proof refers to a specialized minting process that begins by manually feeding burnished coin blanks into presses fitted with special dies. Each coin is struck multiple times so the softly frosted and highly detailed images seem to float above the field.

*An official Certificate of Authenticity accompanies each American Buffalo Gold Proof coin

* Pictures are an indication only, price of coins are applicable for dates of our choice