Are these Buffalo or Bison ?

[e1cnr]

I am so confused, do they call them different things depending on what side of the Mississippi you are on?

 

[Afterword]

A buffalo is a bison and bison is a bovine.

[dcarr]

Proof strike = Buffalo.

Business strike = Bison.

[RWB]

The animal is an American bison (Mammalia Cetartiodactyla Bovidae Bison bison), commonly called an "American buffalo," or just buffalo.

 

The name has nothing to do with whether the coin is a shiny proof or a coin made for circulation.

[James_OldeTowne]

The animal is an American bison (Mammalia Cetartiodactyla Bovidae Bison bison), commonly called an "American buffalo," or just buffalo.

 

The name has nothing to do with whether the coin is a shiny proof or a coin made for circulation.

Heck, I thought they were nickels.

[dcarr]

I've always called these "Indian Head / Bison" nickels:

[thetracer]

The animals are bison.

 

When Europeans first saw them they looked like water buffalo, so the animal here got called that, incorrectly.

 

But, like "penny" Buffalo is now stuck in our language.

[RWB]

I've always called these "Indian Head / Bison" nickels:

 

Ah....I've "always" thought of that "thing" as a fake - no real US five cent coins were produced in 1933.

[WoodenJefferson]

The Lakota Indians had many terms they used to described the hooved animals.

 

pte (a buffalo cow)

•ptehchaka (any buffalo)

•tatanka (a buffalo bull, but also a male moose, bear)

•ptehinchala (a buffalo calf)

•heyuktan (a buffalo with bent horns)

•ptesan (a white buffalo)

•ptezinchala (a buffalo calf)

•heshlushluta (a smooth horned buffalo)

•tabloka (a buffalo bull, bull moose, male grizzly)

•tasha (red buffalo)

•p'ta (a male buffalo)

•ptesan (yellowish-white buffalo cow)

•ptasapa (black male buffalo)

 

Black Diamond was a bull buffalo, so 'tatanka' it is.

 

Tatanka nickel.

 

[RWB]

"Tatanka nickel."

 

Nice! I like that.

[johnny9434]

its a lot of buffalo chips to me.

[dcarr]

I've always called these "Indian Head / Bison" nickels:

 

Ah....I've "always" thought of that "thing" as a fake - no real US five cent coins were produced in 1933.

 

You contradict yourself.

It can't be a "fake" of a 1933 nickel if no 1933 nickels were originally made.

 

It is, in reality, a type of "Hobo" (altered coin).

 

 

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

The animal is an American bison (Mammalia Cetartiodactyla Bovidae Bison bison), commonly called an "American buffalo," or just buffalo.

 

The name has nothing to do with whether the coin is a shiny proof or a coin made for circulation.

 

I believe the correct identification is North American Bison.

 

A buffalo, while now a common and accepted description, is not the same, technically.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

I've always called these "Indian Head / Bison" nickels:

 

Ah....I've "always" thought of that "thing" as a fake - no real US five cent coins were produced in 1933.

 

You contradict yourself.

It can't be a "fake" of a 1933 nickel if no 1933 nickels were originally made.

 

It is, in reality, a type of "Hobo" (altered coin).

 

 

A self dignified and honorable hobo would never perform the talent of reconfiguration on a fantasy date coin. It just isn't done in proper hobo circles. There are societal acceptable limits, you know. To do so is......well....somewhat uncouth that a commoner might do, not a hobo gentleman. Really, the gall of some.

[RWB]

As Mr. Ed used to sing: "A fake is a fake, a fake of course..."

 

The subject was bison vs buffalo, and one hopes the OP got something meaningful before being accosted with photos of a fake coin.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

As Mr. Ed used to sing: "A fake is a fake, a fake of course..."

 

The subject was bison vs buffalo, and one hopes the OP got something meaningful before being accosted with photos of a fake coin.

 

...and subjecting hobos to being identified as accepting a less than perfect canvas for displaying their North American art talent. It is simply demeaning, without cause or even a minimal modicum of propriety. What has happened to our Country? Disgusting, just......disgusting.

[nk1nk]

So I think we have clarified the buffalo/bison debate but why does NGC use both on their labels?

And the reply dcarr gave as proof vs circulation strike isn't accurate, there are both proofs and business strikes labeled by NGC as bison and buffalo.

 

Nick

[dcarr]

So I think we have clarified the buffalo/bison debate but why does NGC use both on their labels?

And the reply dcarr gave as proof vs circulation strike isn't accurate, there are both proofs and business strikes labeled by NGC as bison and buffalo.

 

Nick

 

Of course it has nothing to do with proof or business strike. That was only a simple observation of the two coins posted. I was illustrating the arbitrary nature of NGC's choice of nomenclature.

 

[rrantique]

"Tatanka nickel."

 

Nice! I like that.

 

+1

[dcarr]

As Mr. Ed used to sing: "A fake is a fake, a fake of course..."

 

The subject was bison vs buffalo, and one hopes the OP got something meaningful before being accosted with photos of a fake coin.

 

Like it or not, people want to collect them. And these people consider them to be "fantasy-date over-strikes", not "fakes".

 

A self dignified and honorable hobo would never perform the talent of reconfiguration on a fantasy date coin. It just isn't done in proper hobo circles. There are societal acceptable limits, you know. To do so is......well....somewhat uncouth that a commoner might do, not a hobo gentleman. Really, the gall of some.

 

...

 

...and subjecting hobos to being identified as accepting a less than perfect canvas for displaying their North American art talent. It is simply demeaning, without cause or even a minimal modicum of propriety. What has happened to our Country? Disgusting, just......disgusting.

 

I'm not sure I follow what you are saying.

 

What is your opinion of a Native American portrait being re-carved to look like a Caucasian "hobo" ?

 

Personally I don't really mind it. But for me, the carvings are rarely as majestic as the original that they effaced.

 

[e1cnr]

So I think we have clarified the buffalo/bison debate but why does NGC use both on their labels?

And the reply dcarr gave as proof vs circulation strike isn't accurate, there are both proofs and business strikes labeled by NGC as bison and buffalo.

 

Nick

 

Of course it has nothing to do with proof or business strike. That was only a simple observation of the two coins posted. I was illustrating the arbitrary nature of NGC's choice of nomenclature.

 

both proof and business can be found with both descriptions

 

I wonder if they realized no one calls them buffalo except them and they changed?

[orifdoc]

I'm not really sure why, but the confusion about "buffalo" bugs me a little. Maybe it's because I grew up on Yellowstone's doorstep and love Africa.

 

The American version, native to North America, previously existed in numbers that are truly incomprehensible. The largest animals will weigh around 2,400 lbs. It's properly known as the bison, but of course buffalo does just fine:

 

 

Wild bison are reasonably bad tempered, especially the bulls. The one in the local zoo coexisted with a huge bull elk until one day the buffalo snapped and flipped the elk over his back and killed it. Their meat is reasonably tasty, and preferable to beef in many ways. There is a rancher who keeps a herd a few miles from my house and the kids enjoy going out there to see them:

 

 

Water buffalo come in the domestic (common) and wild varieties (rare). They are native to Asia, but have been widely dispersed to other areas. These are larger than both the bison and the cape buffalo. The small native wild population consists of maybe 2,500-4,000 individuals. There are other feral populations in areas where they've been widely introduced. A variety is sometimes sport hunted in Argentina and escaped descendants of animals imported as a meat source for early colonies are considered an invasive species in northern Australia.

 

 

Cape buffalo are not the largest of the buffalo species (the largest bulls might weigh 2000 lbs), and only distantly related to bison and the Asian buffalo. They are a member of Africa's "Big 5" and are unbelievably majestic, but unpredictable and aggressive when they feel threatened. They are considered by many to be the most dangerous large animal in Africa, and they kill some 200 people per year. They spend their days fending off lions and generally making life difficult for their neighbors. The population was severely depleted (95%) by a rinderpest epidemic in the 1890s but they recovered nicely and today are the only member of the "Big 5" that is not considered threatened or endangered.

 

[jpcienkus]

Cool post Orifdoc! I watch a lot of the shows on Africa's Big Cats, the Leopard being my favorite of the 3. Watching Lions trying to take down a Cape Buffalo is very fascinating to me. The way the herd protects each other is cool. From what I can gather from these shows, the Cape Buffalo is not an animal to be trifled with...

[e1cnr]

went to Wikipedia and found this

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

went to Wikipedia and found this

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison

 

American bison is not a north american species.

 

There is a North American Bison that is attributable to the U.S., and always was and still is. This is one of the reasons Wiki is not quite on the mark.

 

When people from all over the world came here to see and hunt this magnificent creature, they didn't come here to hunt the South American Bison. I am not claiming there were not some border crossers in there somewhere, and certainly some North American Bison crossed in the other direction, especially when being pursued by the Comanche whose range was the longest and widest and most influential of all 500 Tribes, but that does not change the fact that it is the North American Bison.

 

Just like the Korean tiger is not the Indian Tiger of African Tiger. BTW, I never did like the Detroit team.

[CO Collector]

If you're looking for modern bison coins, have you seen the Royal Canadian Mint's 1.25 oz $8 Silver Bison?

 

http://www.jmbullion.com/2016-1.25-oz-canadian-silver-bison-coin/

 

http://www.jmbullion.com/2015-1-25-oz-canadian-silver-bison/

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

If you're looking for modern bison coins, have you seen the Royal Canadian Mint's 1.25 oz $8 Silver Bison?

 

http://www.jmbullion.com/2016-1.25-oz-canadian-silver-bison-coin/

 

http://www.jmbullion.com/2015-1-25-oz-canadian-silver-bison/

 

 

 

 

 

That is a serious breach of friendship between nations. They have the beaver. We have the North American Bison. Furthermore, I claim the Comanche Nation and all other 499 recognized tribes on behalf of the U.S. They can have(and thank goodness have done so)and keep the French. Canada American Bison indeed. Now, I have absolutely no objection to Canada claiming Justin, and maybe he would be a legitimate claim of ownership (thank God ) to depict on their coins.

 

I trust I have made my point. If not, I will return with vigor.

[RWB]

Aren't there two subspecies of bison...? Last time I saw one was in the grocery store meat department -- but he/she wasn't talking.

 

BTW Excellent photos of the buffalo, etc.

 

PS: What color capes do the Cape Buffalo wear? Is that what makes them unpredictable? Is it the same color as Pompey's cape when he rode off to fight the pirates?

[CO Collector]

 

Hey Mcknowitall, check it out...

 

RCM baseball: http://www.mint.ca/store/coin/14-oz-fine-gold-coin-baseball-diamond-mintage-3500-2013-prod1620031?o_action=crossSell&rcmiid=link|productpage|youmayalsolike|14_oz_Fine_Gold_Coin_-_Baseball_Diamond_-_Mintage_3500_2013.VrywMv_2bX4

 

RCM NASCAR: http://www.mint.ca/store/coins/nascar-1-oz.-fine-silver-medallion-2016-prod2530126?rcmiid=link|search|searchresults|NASCAR_1_oz_Fine_Silver_Medallion_2016.VryuMP_2bX4

 

Will the madness ever end?

[MAC266]

Is that a die crack, or just a scratch on the slab? Because if that's a die crack, that is one awesome coin.