Montana

Montana is a large and vast state in the northwestern United States, bordering Canada. Its nickname is “The Treasure State,” because it has long been rich in underground resources including gold and silver. At the same time, it is also famous for its endlessly stretching sky, so it is also affectionately called “Big Sky Country.”

In the very center of the coin’s reverse, the skull of an American bison (buffalo) is boldly engraved. Behind it, a mountain range and the Missouri River spread out like a backdrop, and below is written the phrase “Big Sky Country.”

The bison is a symbolic animal that once roamed the Great Plains of North America in herds, and for the native peoples of this land it was a precious being that provided food and the foundation of life. This image, with the skull set against a background of mountains and a river, captures in a single scene the vast nature and the life that has continued within it.

Montana became the 41st state of the Union on November 8, 1889. At a time when westward expansion was drawing to a close, this land, holding resources and great nature, joined as one piece of the United States.

Seeing the bison, mountains, and river together on a single coin, you naturally sense the character of Montana, where the sky and the land come to mind before people do.