<P> Nevertheless, John Big Tree, a Seneca, claimed to be a model for Fraser's coin, and made many public appearances as the "nickel Indian" until his 1967 death at the age of 92 (though he sometimes alleged he was over 100 years of age). Big Tree was identified as the model for the nickel in wire service reports about his death, and he had appeared in that capacity at the Texas Numismatic Association convention in 1966 . After Big Tree's death, the Mint stated that he most likely was not one of the models for the nickel . There have been other claimants: in 1964, Montana Senator Mike Mansfield wrote to Mint Director Eva B. Adams, enquiring if Sam Resurrection, a Choctaw was a model for the nickel . Adams wrote in reply, "According to our records, the portrait is a composite . There have been many claimants for this honor, all of whom are undoubtedly sincere in the belief that theirs is the one that adorns the nickel ." </P> <P> According to Fraser, the animal that appears on the reverse is the American bison Black Diamond . In an interview published in the New York Herald on January 27, 1913, Fraser was quoted as saying that the animal, which he did not name, was a "typical and shaggy specimen" which he found at the Bronx Zoo . Fraser later wrote that the model "was not a plains buffalo, but none other than Black Diamond, the contrariest animal in the Bronx Zoo . I stood for hours...He refused point blank to permit me to get side views of him, and stubbornly showed his front face most of the time ." However, Black Diamond was never at the Bronx Zoo, but instead lived at the Central Park Zoo until he was sold and slaughtered in 1915 . Black Diamond's mounted head is still extant, and has been exhibited at coin conventions . The placement of Black Diamond's horns differs considerably from that of the animal on the nickel, leading to doubts that Black Diamond was Fraser's model . One candidate cited by Bowers is Bronx, a bison who was for many years the herd leader of the bison at the Bronx Zoo . </P> <P> From its inception, the coin was referred to as the "Buffalo nickel", reflecting the American colloquialism for the North American bison . As the piece is 75% copper and 25% nickel, prominent numismatist Stuart Mosher objected to the nomenclature in the 1940s, writing that he was "uncertain why it is called a' Buffalo nickel' although the name is preferable to' Bison copper"'. The numismatic publication with the greatest circulation, Coin World, calls it an Indian head nickel, while R.S. Yeoman's Red Book refers to it as an "Indian Head or Buffalo type". </P> <P> In 2001, the design was adopted for use on a commemorative silver dollar . In 2006, the Mint began striking American Buffalo gold bullion pieces, using a modification of Fraser's Type I design . </P>

Where is the date found on a buffalo nickel