$50 Gold Buffalo (2006–)

The $50 American Buffalo gold coin was first minted in 2006 and became an immediate hit with coin collectors who fell in love with the coin?s classic design and investors, who are drawn to the coin?s high precious metal content. These .9999-fine gold coins contain a full troy ounce of pure gold and have been struck in both burnished and proof finishes, giving collectors and investors various purchase options.

The burnished specimens are made at the Philadelphia Mint and tend to be struck in larger quantities than the proof specimens, which are produced at the West Point Mint in New York and bear a ?W? mintmark. The $50 gold Buffalo coins have been offered individually and also in sets that include smaller American Buffalo gold coins or other issues. While American Buffalo coins are popular collectibles, none of the issues is necessarily rare from the mintage standpoint, as all are common and readily available in upper Mint State grades.

American Buffalo gold coins have built-in demand from coin collectors who appreciate the revival of the classic Indian Head or ?Buffalo? design, which first appeared in 1913 on the five-cent coin. The ?Buffalo? nickel by James Earle Fraser became famous for its reverse depiction of an American bison, which appeared on the nickel until 1938.