Years
Designer
James Earle Fraser
Composition
.9999 gold, 1 troy oz
Diameter
32.7 mm
Mass
31.103 g
Thickness
2.95 mm
Edge
Reeded
Mints
West Point
Metal
Gold
Design
Fraser’s 1913 Buffalo nickel design, scaled to a 24-karat one-ounce gold coin — the first .9999 gold issue from the U.S. Mint.
History
Created so the United States could offer a 24-karat bullion coin against Canada’s Maple Leaf. Proofs and a few fractional 2008 issues exist. The design is a century-old American image recast as a pure-gold trade coin. Burnished and proof West Point strikes are the collector path; bullion strikes trade near melt plus a premium.
Key dates
21 issues