All too often, coin collecting is a squinter's game ... and an image of an American buffalo (or bison) on its reverse (tails) side, with four legs and four clearly visible hooves.

Only forty years after this image, though, all that would be a distant memory: In 1906 Buffalo’s population was cresting 400,000, and the city had become a international center of commerce and ...

In the 19th century, bison were nearly exterminated by non-Native hunters and U.S. soldiers attempting to eradicate the tribes. Today, more than 95% of buffalo in the U.S. are raised commercially.