1927-S BUFFALO 5C MS66

If you have ever visited Mount Rushmore it is easily one of the most beautiful monuments, which honors our greatest presidents, but it also in a very unique location. This testament to the Nation’s strength and gratefulness to a few of its greatest leaders was designated as a point of interest by historian Doane Robinson to draw tourists to South Dakota. To actualize the design Robinson desired he hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum who began work on the monument on October 4, 1927. Borglum started the presidents’ faces in order of their presidency, which began with Washington. His general facial structure was in the shape of the egg upon which he added the detailed features overtime; Washington’s was the first face to be finished in 1934. Jefferson’s face proved to more of a hassle; its original position was meant to be to the right of Washington’s but in two short years his face cracked so badly it was removed with dynamite and restarted to Washington’s left. Jefferson’s face was finally finished in 1936 and dedicated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The great Abraham Lincoln’s face followed Jefferson’s a year later and the final face of Theodore Roosevelt was finished in 1939. After fourteen years and one million federal dollars, Borglum continuously worked on retouches and intended to move forward with a large inscription under the presidents’ busts that told the American story. Unfortunately the monument was never fully finalized due to Borglum’s sudden death in 1941. Regardless, the monument reached a point of completion that honors the four greatest presidents in a larger-than-life way that is still a popular tourist destination to this day.