The Buffalo Nickel is the most uniquely "American" coin. It celebrates the culture and heritage of the American West, and the design is recognized as one of the most beautiful and artistic ever to appear on a coin. The front of the Buffalo Nickel depicts an Indian chief. It is actually a composite portrait of three chiefs: Iron Tail (a Sioux who fought against Custer at Little Bighorn and who was a star in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show), Two Moons (a Cheyenne who also fought at Little Bighorn), and John Big Tree (a Seneca). The back features a stunning image of a buffalo. The model was Black Diamond from the New York

Zoological Gardens. A massive animal, Black Diamond was a great attraction at the zoo - and when he died, an entrepreneur bought him and offered "Black

Diamond Steaks" to the public for $2 a pound! The buffalo is North America's largest land animal, reaching weights of up to 2,800 pounds. The coin was

designed by James Earle Fraser a renowned sculptor who had studied with Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the designer of the legendary $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coin.

Fraser was especially known for his dramatic images of the American west.
 
The Jefferson nickel, designed by Felix Schlag in a public competition, made its debut in 1938. The design was based on a famous portrait of Thomas Jefferson  by Jean Antoine Houdon. The reverse shows a front view of of Jefferson's home Monticello. Now you can pair these two famous coins struck a the the Denver

Mint in 1938. Both coins have been certified by ANACS.