The US 1914 Nickel, or Buffalo Nickel, was designed by James Earle Fraser and debuted during a time of American expansion and identity. That year, World War I began in Europe, and the U.S. remained neutral, yet politically aware. The coin’s Native American portrait on the US 1914 Nickel symbolized American heritage amid growing nationalism and global tension.
Economically, the US 1914 Nickel circulated widely in an industrializing nation. Made of copper and nickel, it reflected durable, cost-effective materials. Fraser’s reverse bison design on the US 1914 Nickel highlighted frontier imagery during a period of modernization, making the US 1914 Nickel both patriotic and practical.