Where The Buffalo Roam
By
Dewey Maggard
Its a fact! This land of ours was such a place and I as a lad saw the remnants of it. On the way to my Grandmothers in that dear land of Oklahoma, we passed by Pawnee Bills Old Home Trading Post.
Surrounding his trading post within a stones throw of Pawnee, Okla, was his beautiful ranch with a herd of 80 or
so buffalo grazing about--always together in a herd. However, at his ranch headquarters, he occasionally kept his
choice bull buffalo in a corral behind the trading post. As any youngster might do, I would climb on the fence (a
big rail fence), where Big Buff was leaning and would get the thrill of running my hands through that large mane of
wool near his massive head. He seemed tame enough in the corral, for I was always able to pet him. Kids today
have done the same thing at Casa-de-Fruta near Hollister, California where a Buffalo is kept in a corral.
Well, this experience had an effect on my early assessment of the government and coinage. While basking in this glory of Americana personified in the form of a Big Buff, our government had the audacity to put the likes of
Thomas Jefferson on a nickel. Now, at that tender age, I was mystified. What did I care about Thomas Jefferson
or Monticello on a coin. After all, didnt we have the Indian-Buffalo nickel? Truly, the first true Americana (I now think), which we have ever had. Mind you at this time in the early 30's, there were still quite a few Liberty Nickels in circulation. That is the first coin my Grandmother gave me, and I treasured it long enough to buy a double dipped ice cream cone with it at our corner drug store. On those marble top counters with the swivel stools- you know the kind; We would swirl around while enjoying the delights of ice cream.
It was not until 1950, after my service years, that I came to appreciate the Buffalo Nickel as a work of art. This
was the year of the Jefferson 50-D nickel. When I learned through a fellow, this nickel was worth a big 2.50 per
roll as soon as they were released from the mint. My head went swimming. This is unreal!, I say to myself. This
friend says to me, If you ever do anything smart in your life, you will buy all the 50-d nickels you can get your
hands on. Well, by the time I was able to acquire my first roll, they had climbed to $30.00 per roll in uncirculated
condition; next roll was $50.00, then $90.00 at each successive increase. I eventually was able to acquire 12 rolls of these coins having quit buying at $290.00 per roll. When they reached $800.00 per roll, I unloaded. In the
mean-time traded some into $3.00 Gold pieces at $150.00 Trade value for the gold at that time.
Well, you see, I never really liked the Jefferson Nickel, (that other nickel). It was not something of beauty as I thought of the buffalo nickel, as is evidenced by the drastic low prices of today for a whole set in uncirculated
condition.
This scenario caused me to devote my attention to Ancient coin collecting when everyone else was burning up for all this modern generic stuff, not to say they cant be fun. But, my Ancient collecting won me some first place prizes and a third place in the CSNA - (California State Numismatic Association) - Coin shows. I believe years
were 1966 and 1967
Take it from this collector, As great as Alexander the Great Gold Staters appeal, in my opinion, there is nothing
to take the place of that piece of Americana..the Buffalo(Indian) nickel. Oh give me a home..where the buffalo
roam! They can have their pie in the sky!
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