Product Description:
MetalStacks is proud to present one of the most artistically ambitious silver coins ever produced — the Coming To Life™ Buffalo Nickel, the second release in the groundbreaking Coming To Life™ series from XceptionalMint™, struck in 5 troy ounces of .999 fine silver, issued as legal tender by the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation, and sculpted by former United States Mint Medallic Artist Michael Gaudioso. This is a coin unlike anything that has existed before in the history of minted silver. Using XceptionalMint's patent-pending Beyond Relief™ technology, the design rises an astonishing 33mm off the coin's surface — transforming James Earle Fraser's legendary 1913 Buffalo Nickel into a fully three-dimensional sculptural object that blurs the boundary between numismatic coin and fine art sculpture. Each piece ships with an official Certificate of Authenticity and Gaudioso's hand-signed label. With a worldwide mintage of just 5,000 pieces, this is a release that serious collectors will be pursuing for years to come.
Highlights:
- 5 troy oz of .999 fine silver — XceptionalMint™
- Sculpted by Michael Gaudioso — former U.S. Mint Medallic Artist (2008–2020), sculptor of the Type 2 American Silver Eagle reverse
- Patent-pending Beyond Relief™ technology — design rises 33mm off the coin surface, far beyond any traditional high-relief coin
- Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity and Gaudioso hand-signed Coming To Life label
- Issued as legal tender by the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation — Five Cents denomination
- Limited worldwide mintage of 5,000 pieces
- 60mm diameter — commanding presence in hand and on display
- Antique proof finish — subtle aged appearance that reveals maximum sculptural detail
- Obverse: Native American portrait in breathtaking three-dimensional sculptural depth — braids, feathers, and facial features emerging from the surface
- Reverse: American bison standing atop a textured stampede field — equally dramatic in three-dimensional relief
- Presented on a natural red rock formation base in a black inscribed display plinth
- IRA eligible
Coin Information:
- Coin: Coming To Life™ Buffalo Nickel
- Series: Coming To Life™ Collection — Release 2
- Year: 2026
- Issuing Authority: Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation
- Mint: XceptionalMint™
- Sculptor: Michael Gaudioso (U.S. Mint Medallic Artist, 2008–2020)
- Technology: Beyond Relief™ — 33mm sculptural depth
- Weight: 5 Troy Oz
- Purity: .999 Fine Silver
- Diameter: 60mm
- Finish: Antique Proof
- Denomination: Five Cents (Legal Tender)
- Authentication: Certificate of Authenticity with Gaudioso hand-signed label
- Worldwide Mintage: 5,000
- IRA Eligible: Yes
Design Details:
Obverse: James Earle Fraser's iconic Native American portrait — first introduced on the Buffalo Nickel in 1913 and inspired by the composite likenesses of three great chiefs: Iron Tail of the Oglala Lakota, Two Moons of the Northern Cheyenne, and Big Tree of the Kiowa — is reborn here in a depth of sculptural relief that no coin in history has previously achieved. The powerful profile, with its braided hair, eagle feathers, and strong dignified features, does not merely sit on the surface of this coin. It projects 33mm from it. Every braid, every feather, every line of the face is rendered in three-dimensional sculptural form that catches light and casts real shadow, creating a visual and tactile experience that changes with every angle from which you view it. "LIBERTY" and "2026" are inscribed on the coin face. The antique proof finish gives the silver a subtle aged appearance that brings every contour into sharper visual relief.
Reverse: The reverse depicts the American bison in equally dramatic sculptural form, standing atop a mound with a textured field evoking the rumble and dust of a passing stampede. The massive animal rises from the surface with striking dimensional presence, its fur, musculature, and posture rendered with the same extraordinary depth as the obverse portrait. "OGLALA LAKOTA SIOUX," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," and "FIVE CENTS" appear among the inscriptions, connecting this release to its legal tender issuing authority and its roots in one of America's most historic indigenous nations.
About Michael Gaudioso and Beyond Relief™:
Michael Gaudioso is among the most academically distinguished and accomplished medallic sculptors working in numismatics today. His training spans Parsons School of Design, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, the New York Academy Graduate School of Figurative Art, and the Repin Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. During his tenure at the United States Mint from 2008 to 2020, he sculpted more than 35 coins and medals — among them Congressional Gold Medals, pieces from the America the Beautiful and First Spouse Gold Coin programs, and most significantly, the reverse of the 2021 Type 2 American Silver Eagle, now struck on the most widely collected silver bullion coin in the world.
After retiring from the Mint, Gaudioso partnered with XceptionalMint™ to pursue a question that traditional minting infrastructure could never have answered: how far beyond conventional relief could a struck silver coin actually go? The result is Beyond Relief™ — a patent-pending technology developed in collaboration with a team of specialized minting engineers that allows designs to extend up to 33mm from the coin's surface while preserving every fine detail of the sculptor's original vision. To put that figure in context: standard high-relief coins achieve 3 to 5mm of relief. Ultra-high-relief coins might reach 8 to 10mm. Beyond Relief™ achieves more than three times that depth. The Coming To Life™ Buffalo Nickel represents a genuine new category of numismatic art — one that has never existed before and could not have existed without this technology.
The Buffalo Nickel Legacy:
James Earle Fraser introduced the Buffalo Nickel in 1913 with a deliberate and ambitious purpose: to create an American coin that was authentically, unmistakably American. No borrowed European mythology. No classical allegory. Just the land, its indigenous people, and its native fauna — the two things Fraser believed most defined the American continent. The Native American portrait and the American bison became two of the most beloved images in the entire history of United States coinage, and the Buffalo Nickel remains one of the most passionately collected classic American coins more than eighty years after its retirement from circulation in 1938.
The Coming To Life™ Buffalo Nickel does not merely pay tribute to that legacy. It transforms it. The Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation — whose own heritage is woven into the DNA of Fraser's original design — serves as the legal tender issuing authority for this release, lending it a cultural authenticity and legal standing that deepens its significance far beyond that of a commemorative round. With only 5,000 pieces struck worldwide, this is a release that belongs in the same conversation as the most significant numismatic art issues of the modern era.
IRA Eligibility:
This coin meets IRS purity requirements (.999 fine silver) for inclusion in a self-directed precious metals IRA. Consult your IRA custodian for details on adding certified silver to your retirement portfolio.
Presentation:
Mounted on a natural red rock formation base and presented in a black display plinth inscribed "Coming To Life Buffalo Nickel / Sculpted by Michael Gaudioso." Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity with Gaudioso hand-signed Coming To Life label.
For additional details or collector inquiries, please contact MetalStacks at (561) 529-3001 or support@metalstacks.com.
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