Buffalo roams again.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

Though it took a little extra time in migrating its way to Lane County, the American bison has repopulated the country.

Only this time, it's in the form of a commemorative nickel.

"The mint didn't anticipate how popular these were going to be," said Jeff Thurn, owner of North Star Coin and Jewelry in Springfield. "They are not coming through the banking system as fast as the other nickels did. People are looking for them, and they are popular. There's a stampede in some ways for it."

The coin still features Thomas Jefferson's portrait, but it's updated and bigger, with "Liberty" to the right in his handwriting. The other side shows the bison in place of Jefferson's Monticello.

Some banks were slow to get the new nickel after it was released to the public on Feb. 28. Coin dealers had them soon after they became available and for a slight surcharge, you could get the coins before they hit the banks.

The first coin in the Westward Journey nickel series commemorating the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's famous expedition depicted a peace medal and the second had a keelboat design. The mint released both in 2004. After the bison coin, the fourth and final nickel, featuring an image of the Pacific Coast, is set to be released this summer.

Coin dealers said the popularity of the state quarters program has led to more awareness of all newly minted coins, but the buffalo nickel has drawn more attention than the first two in the series.

"I've gotten more inquiries from Joe Public about the nickel than anything else in a while," said Alex Pancheco, owner of Bear Creek Coin in Eugene. "The demand on the East Coast is so high the Federal Reserve has rationed shipments. People have always liked the buffalo nickel."

The original buffalo nickels, referred to formally by the mint as the bison nickel, were issued between 1913 until 1938, with the exception of the years 1922, 1932 and 1933. In 1922, the mint placed a priority on silver dollar production and made no nickels, while the Great Depression meant no new nickels in 1932 and 1933.

The new nickel has sparked renewed interest in the older ones. The old buffalo nickels - which had the image of an American Indian on the opposite side - have some value because of their rarity, but no one expects these commemorative nickels to ever be worth much more than, well, a nickel.

"People will be saving the buffalo nickels because it's a novelty," Pancheco said.

Uncirculated, undamaged nickels may be worth more eventually, coin dealers said. The least expensive way to get a hold of the new nickels is through a bank, though it's tougher to get a full roll this way because banks reroll their own coin once it's circulated, mixing all varieties of nickels.

Carla Nash, a senior client services specialist at Pacific Continental Bank, said her bank ordered the new nickel as soon as possible. "We have numerous clients who asked for them," she said. "We've had requests for them for months. They are very popular."

Coin collector Josh Moore was patient to get his buffalo nickels. When he first heard they were coming out he asked around at a few banks and found out that he had to wait a month or more. This week, while looking for rolls of Kennedy half dollars, he also asked for the nickels at a US Bank in Springfield. The bank didn't have the Kennedy half dollars, but it had the nickels.

Moore, at 29, is typical of today's coin collector. He collected as a child with his father, lost interest in his teens, and has come back to the hobby after the state coins started coming out. Now he has a son who he hopes will have fun looking at dates and images on coins.

Moore said he likes to collect coins because it gives him a sense of history.

"It makes me feel a little patriotic," he said.

Americans also like the buffalo because it's a romantic image of the West, said Thurn, who is president of the Springfield Coin Club.

"It's a symbol of our country no one can get mad about," Thurn said. "They are never going to be rare. But it's fun to be doing it."

2005 AMERICAN BISON NICKEL

The U.S. Mint sells the new nickel in a two-roll set for $8.95. It features one roll from the Denver mint and one from the Philadelphia mint. Five hundred-coin bags from one mint or the other are $45.95.

Web site: catalog.usmint.gov. Click on "Bags & Rolls" on the left-hand side.