Due to the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, the US Mint was mandated to produce a 24-karat gold coin that carries the legal tender value of $50 and has a mintage limit up to 300,000 coins. Going down in history as the first 24-karat gold coin to be produced by the US Mint, the American Gold Buffalo Coin was first released in the Summer of 2006. The design is rooted in American history, inspired by the Indian Head Nickel design of 1913. James Earle Fraser is the artist responsible for such a stunning coin design, meeting an American bison in real life, just to draw it portrait. Black Diamond is the American Bison used as a model for the buffalo design. It has been recorded Fraser needed to constantly distract the beast, while drawing its portrait, to contain the side profile view, due to the bison wanting to constantly look forward.
