Can any of the 34 Presentation Buffalo Nickels be traced?

Zoins

Just ran across the following text from ATS indicating 34 buffalo nickels from the first bag were presented to President Taft and 33 Indian Chiefs at the groundbreaking for the National Memorial to the North American Indian. Are any of these first buffalo nickels traceable today and are the recipients known? Are the whereabouts of the the silver spade used by President Taft known?

https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/buffalo-five-cents-1913-1938-pscid-24
On March 4, 1913, coins from the first bag to go into circulation were presented to outgoing President Taft and 33 Indian Chiefs at the groundbreaking ceremonies for the National Memorial to the North American Indian at Fort Wadsworth, New York.

From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_American_Indian_Memorial) and other articles, we know some of the chiefs there:

• Two Moons: a Northern Cheyenne who fought at Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Moons
• Red Hawk
• Wooden Leg: a Cheyenne Chief who used a stone ax during the ground breaking

Here's a photo of the gathering:

Here are the indians with President Taft:

BuffaloIronTail

Unless they can be documented and proven to be the aforementioned coins, they are just the proverbial "dust in the wind".

Pete

Zoins

@BuffaloIronTail said:
Unless they can be documented and proven to be the aforementioned coins, they are just the proverbial "dust in the wind".

Pete

If only coins could talk

More seriously, imagine if any of the Chiefs kept the coin with a note that was passed down to their lineage? It's not so far fetched to imagine a nickel kept with a groundbreaking pamphlet and a handwritten note.

RogerB

Names of all attending are among the Taft papers.

Insider2

Perhaps Elizabeth Warren knows the answer. She is in a high place in our government and she is part Indian.

mannie gray

Very interesting--I had not heard of this before.

ricko

I have no doubt that some survive in reservation archives somewhere.....far out of reach of numismatists...Cheers, RickO

WillieBoyd2

They are filed in the Archives under "Bison" nickels.

BillJones

Unless there was something special about them, like a minting difference, a counterstamp or even an envelope, I have no idea how you could spot or authenticate them.

MorganMan94

@Insider2 said:
Perhaps Elizabeth Warren knows the answer. She is in a high place in our government and she is part Indian.

This is the best laugh I have gotten off this forum since ABCDE123456

RogerB

The "Wanamaker" 1913s are ordinary although possibly from new dies and of above average detail. (I suspect the Native Americans though the nickels were insulting, and they expected impressive medals or other mementos.)