Stack’s Bowers’ New Silver Medals Pay Homage to the Famed American Bison

By Q. David Bowers, Chairman Emeritus

Very nice new entries into the field of silver art medals are the two issued by our company under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society. This non-profit organization, based at the world famous Bronx Zoo, is deeply involved in the Bison Restoration Project. The two medals, each of .9999 silver, one weighing an ounce and the other a half-ounce, are a tribute to what we hope Congress will designate as the official United States mammal. Certainly the bison, popularly called the buffalo, is a pure American symbol. Show an image of one to a European, Asian, African, or anyone else, and the United States of America comes to mind. The medals are in beautiful deep mirror Proof finish. As soon as I complete this commentary I am going to order one each for my own collection.

In recent times I have been busy with Whitman Publishing Company in the writing of The American Bison: A National Treasure. Except for Buffalo nickels, minted from 1913 to 1938, the $10 1901 “Bison” note, and seeing a few animals at zoos, I did not know much about this creature – the largest wild mammal in North America. After delving into the subject I found they have a rich and illustrious history.

To this information I added many other numismatic bison – one on the seal of the Buffalo (New York) founded in 1937, another on a Society of Medallists’ issue, two more made by the Medallic Art Company, a rare Civil War token depicting a bison, and enough other things to fill out a full chapter.

Then I explored towns and counties with Bison or Buffalo in their names, quite a few it turns out, mostly of low population (except for Buffalo, New York), and all of them interesting. Beyond that I enlisted the talents of my long time friend and co-author in another field, Dr. Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, who contributed information on the bison in popular culture. We have professional sports teams, college teams, consumer products, aircraft, road equipment, and others – including a relatively new chain, Buffalo Wild Wings.

Wow! After complete bison immersion I feel like I can get up on the proverbial soapbox and talk about bison for an hour non-stop. The book will be released soon by Whitman, popularly priced, and should be for sale nationwide. If you acquire a copy I think you will enjoy reading it. The Whitman Publishing website will announce when they are available.