The 'Speared Bison' Error Nickel  - PCGS #84159*- CHERRYPICKER FS-05-2005-D-901 -

2005-D (ONLY) from the Westward Journey Nickel Series - Business Strike. The 'spear' is a Reverse Die Gouge (says NGC) or an "obvious die dent" according to Ken Potter, error specialist and numismatic writer.

This very unique error was discovered on March 10, 2005, and was featured in numismatic publication Coin World and also in Numismatic News. The die gouge (or dent) is extremely long and starts at the E in Stat'e's (of America) at top of coin, and goes all the way through the bison's body and comes out on the underside of his belly. Short note: Buyer BEWARE: These are NOT found in any mint boxes dated 0000 or any other number. Nor have they been found in mint bags to my knowledge.

Readers should note that the only TRUE Speared Bison is on the Denver (D) mint 2005 Bison nickel. It is NOT on the P mint, altho you will see some that are being certified/sold on eBay by unknowledgable people. There have been many tactics used in the past few years to jump on to the  Speared Bison bandwagon -- this is just the latest of scams.

The old statement "Buyer Beware" rings true when purchasing Speared Bison nickels. Be sure to ask the Seller - is it the TRUE "long" spear that goes all the way through the back and comes out on underside of bison's belly? Or is it the short spear (die gouge) in the hip? Sometimes you can view photo - but more often than not - there will be no close up photo of the spear (especiall if fake), as it is extremely hard to capture on camera and/or scanner. Only a good camera and photographer can get a good picture of the "spear". It is known to me that some people are selling nickels and calling them Speared Bison nickels, when in actuality, they are not SB's, but only a short die gouge in the hip of the bison instead. So be sure to ask question and ask for photographs.

To my knowledge the only true SB nickels have been found in blue and white String wrappers - in new bank wrapped rolls - and only SOME of those may contain the Speared Bison nickels -- and only a few at that, if any. In my search for the SB I had many String wrappers that produced zero/zip/nada, while others produced up to 6 per roll. The average found per roll was about 3. Some rolls contained 1, 2 ... up to 6 -- but again - some contained goose egg. To restate: Not all String wrappers contain SB's.

In addition, the String wrappers that were found to contain the true Speared Bison nickels are ONLY from the East Texas area. From Dallas to Tyler is the general vicinity in which the SB's were found. San Antonio, Houston ... No. If in doubt, ask your Seller - where were the nickels actually acquired. Some people state their nickels are from East TX - which in actuality, they are just saying that as a ply to sell their nickels.

A couple of persons have stated they found SB's in the mint rolls, but while this 'could' be possible, I have not confirmed it or ever spoken directly to a person who actually did so. A LOT of people have tried to jump on SB bandwagon (using 'Speared Bison' in their auction title to draw more attention to their auction.) by selling Mint boxes (2 rolls sets) saying 'could contain Speared Bison' - or 'Speared Bison' found. I dont' believe it to be true. If anyone reading this HAS actually found an SB in a mint roll, I would appreciate your contacting me and referencing this Guide in your subject line.

More on the Speared Bison Nickel, and the discoverer of same

 

You can also go to coinresource.com to read more.

(Or Just GOOGLE 'Speared Bison' - You will find it is one of the top ten valuable coins that you can find in your pocket change!!!)

Photo below shows the angle in which you should hold this coin in order to 'discover'/view the 'spear'/error on any Bison Nickel dated 2005-D - Business Strike Only. Hold nickel in with the bison's head facing your body - and tilt back and forth under a good light. If it has a spear you will see it clearly without magnification.