The 2019-W American Buffalo Gold Proof continues the series’ sustained low-production era, arriving in a year when both proof and bullion output sat well below the levels seen in the first decade of the program. Every coin contains one full troy ounce of .9999 fine, 24-karat gold, struck at the West Point Mint on polished dies to proof specification. For investors, the gold content is unchanged. For collectors, the 2019-W slots into a run of years that collectively represent the scarcest proof issues in the Buffalo program’s history.
Key Features:
- Purity & Weight: 1 troy oz of .9999 fine (24-karat) gold, face value $50
- Metal: Gold
- Obverse: Right-facing portrait of a Native American chief, inscribed “LIBERTY,” dated “2019,” with “W” mint mark and “F” designer initial
- Reverse: Full-body American bison on rocky ground, inscribed “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1 OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD $50”
- Limited Mintage of 14,844
The obverse presents James Earle Fraser’s composite portrait of a Native American chief in sharp left-facing profile. The face fills a generous portion of the field, with the brow, cheekbone, and jaw line each clearly articulated in the frosted surface. Hair sweeps back in individually struck strands from the crown, and two feathers rest flat against the left side, their quills and barbs precisely rendered. A wrapped braid gathers at the base of the neck, with the cloth binding struck in fine detail. The “W” West Point mint mark appears behind the neck, and “2019” with the “F” Fraser initial sit below the portrait. The jet-black mirror field sets off the frosted devices with the deep cameo contrast that distinguishes the best proof strikes in this series. The reverse shows the bison in a forward, lowered stance — head inclined toward the ground, the dense mane falling in layered strands over the left shoulder and chest. The haunches fill the right half of the field, and all four hooves plant on rough, mottled rock taken directly from Fraser’s original 1913 Buffalo Nickel design and carried unchanged through every year of the proof series.
The coin arrives in the United States Mint’s premium hardwood presentation box — a rich reddish-brown case with a leather-wrapped exterior and a Department of the Treasury seal embossed on the interior lid panel, continuing the packaging style introduced with the 2017 issue. The Certificate of Authenticity features the gold-script design on a cream cover. The coin sits in a protective capsule within the box. Diameter is the standard 32.70 mm for the one-ounce proof Buffalo series.
Released on April 12, 2019, at an opening price of $1,660, the 2019-W belongs to a cluster of years — 2015 through 2019 — that produced the most consistently low proof mintages in the series’ history. Add the 2019-W Gold Buffalo Proof to your cart today.