美国文化小析-野牛硬币镍币-The Buffalo Nickel.pptVIP

美国文化小析 野牛镍币 （Buffalo Nickel） The origin of buffalo nickel In 1911. McVeagh was appointed by President William Howard Taft and was well aware that the previous administration under Theodore Roosevelt had re-engineered both the one cent and gold dollar coins. The Liberty Head five-cent piece had passed its quarter-century anniversary in 1908. McVeagh set out to make his mark with the nickel in 1911 by commissioning internationally famous artist James E. Fraser to create the designs for the new coin. For the front, Fraser sketched a rugged, dignified Indian head based on a composite of three models: Iron Tail, Two Moons and Chief John Big Tree. For the reverse side, Fraser looked to the Central Park Zoological Garden in New York and its American Bison, Black Diamond. He drew Black Diamond standing regally atop a small mound. Both designs boldly filled the entire coin, giving the buffalo nickel its memorable classic look. Frasers designs were quickly approved by Mc Veagh but production was delayed as the sketches bounced among meddling bureaucratic officials and, more ominously, the Hobbs Company, a manufacturer of coin-operated vending machines. Hobbs engineers wanted to make certain the new nickel worked smoothly with its existing machines. The first buffalo nickel was minted in 1913. Once in circulation it became apparent that the denomination “FIVE CENTS” was eroding（侵蚀） too rapidly under the mound on the back of the coin. Sacrificing esthetics, the mound was excised in favor of a broad line. Author Introduction Fraser was born in Minnesota in 1876,who studied art in Chicago and Paris .He was only 17 when he completed the first modeling of “The End of the Trail”. The statue portrays a weary native American riding an equally forlorn horse. Despite the pressure of other projects, Fraser worked on “The End of the Trail” off and on throughout his career. Today a large version of the statue is in the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western History Center i