American Gold Buffalo: Years, Versions and Mintages

What a Gold Buffalo is

Gold Buffalos have been struck every year since 2006 in one troy ounce of .9999 fine gold, which is 24 karat. That sets them apart from the Gold Eagle, which is 22 karat and alloyed with other metals for hardness. Each Buffalo carries a $50 face value, but that's a legal tender figure only. The gold is what gives the coin its value.

Bullion coins are sold by the Mint in bulk to authorized purchasers, who pass them on to dealers and the public. Proofs are made at West Point for collectors and sold directly by the Mint. Only in 2008 did the Mint add smaller sizes and an uncirculated burnished finish.

Gold Buffalo mintages by year

The design

The coin copies James Earle Fraser's 1913 Buffalo nickel. The front shows a Native American in profile with LIBERTY and the date. The back shows an American bison standing on a mound. Fraser's nickel never carried IN GOD WE TRUST, so the gold version adds it, along with the $50 face value and the weight and purity, written as 1 OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD.

The design has stayed the same since 2006. If your coin shows a bison and a Native American but says nothing about gold or a face value, it isn't a US Mint Gold Buffalo. Private mints sell silver and gold rounds with similar artwork and those are worth only their metal.

Bullion, proof, burnished and reverse proof

Most years have just two Gold Buffalos and they're easy to tell apart. A few years add something special.

• Bullion: no mint mark, bright even finish, sold in tubes through authorized purchasers
• Proof: W mint mark, mirror fields with frosted design, sold in a capsule with a box and certificate
• Burnished (2008 only): W mint mark, soft satin finish with no mirror
• Fractional sizes (2008 only): 1/10, 1/4 and 1/2 ounce in proof and burnished, with $5, $10 and $25 face values
• Reverse proof (2013 only): W mint mark, frosted fields with a mirror-like design, for the 100th anniversary of the Buffalo nickel

Key dates and low mintages

The 2008 coins lead the list. The one ounce burnished coin, with only 9,074 struck, is the lowest mintage Gold Buffalo of all. The quarter ounce burnished coin had just 9,949 struck, the lowest of the fractional coins and the fractional proofs ranged from 12,169 to 18,884. The one ounce proof dropped to 18,863 that year as well.

Among later one ounce proofs, 2024 is the lowest at 10,075, followed by 2020 at 11,887. For bullion, 2019 stands out at 61,500 coins, well below the 200,000 or more sold in many other years. The 2013 reverse proof at 47,836 is popular as a one-year finish rather than for scarcity.

Checking a coin is genuine

Weigh the coin on a scale that reads to a hundredth of a gram and measure its diameter and thickness. Pure gold is very dense, so a fake that matches the weight usually ends up the wrong size. Gold isn't magnetic, so a coin that sticks to a magnet is a fake.

Then check the details under magnification. Look for sharp lettering, clean reeding on the edge and fine detail in the bison's fur and the feathers in the headdress. Check that the purity reads .9999 and the face value reads $50 on a one ounce coin. A dealer with a precious metal analyzer can confirm the gold content without harming the coin.

Storage and handling

Pure 24 karat gold is softer than the alloyed gold in an Eagle, so Gold Buffalos pick up scratches and dings easily. Hold them by the edges and never slide them across a table or let them knock together loose in a pouch. Keep proofs in their original capsules and store everything in a dry place. Never clean a gold coin, since even a soft cloth leaves fine lines. Keep boxes and certificates with proofs; collectors want them.

Frequently asked questions