Over the past couple of weeks I've begun cataloging all of the 1913 5c Type1s that I've collected over the last year. Last night it was this one's turn and was surprised at just how gorgeous it is (wanted to share of course). The Buffaloes are infamous for having weak strikes out of a necessity of spacing the dies slightly further apart to save them from being damaged/destroyed during the minting process. So it's only the planchets that were slightly 'overweight' that got such a full strike. If anyone has a coin from this series with great appeal - please share!
Type1s are most easily identified by the change Barber made months into production by removing the mound on the Reverse of the coin but something else he did was to remove the natural pebbled look in the fields left by Fraser. Anyway, I'm probably geeking out a bit too much but it's another aspect of the Type 1s that I enjoy and noticed immediately in this coin.
It's a really great design. I don't have any great examples of the 5 cent version, especially not a 1913 type I, but I really appreciate my gold buffalos and I do have a roll of silver buffalo rounds that are based on the original type I design. It's not like the other 'cartoonish' designs, where semi-talented engravers did an OK job of copying Fraser's design. It looks like Fraser was the engraver for the round dies.
I've been tempted to buy these rounds for that same reason. It'd be so nice to have a larger example of the engraving. I just love this moment in American history I suppose.
I really miss the age when our coins had allegorical representations or messages of the concept of America, freedom, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and self determination. Leave the images of persons to commemoratives.
