02 The story
A nickel that would like you to take its word for it.
The Bluffalo Nickel is worth five cents and will assure you otherwise. The obverse carries a portrait, the words BELIEVE ME, and an expression the department has agreed to describe as sincere.
The reverse shows a buffalo standing on a heap of IOUs, which is where the backing went. Around it: ALL BLUFF. NO BACKING.
The name is this department’s proposal. The nickel, like the promises, has not been issued. Believe us.
What’s on it, exactly?
The obverse. BLUFFALO around the top, 5¢ at the bottom, a portrait, and the motto BELIEVE ME at the right.
The reverse. A buffalo standing on a pile of notes marked IOU, ALL BLUFF above and NO BACKING below. The edge is reeded.
This is not a real coin. The Bluffalo Nickel is an original parody illustration made to look struck in nickel-silver. It is not U.S. Mint artwork, it is not a product, it is not currency, and nothing here is for sale. “Bluffalo Nickel” is this site’s naming proposal.