Free Lakota Bank Collection Overview
The Free Lakota Bank Collection gathers the private currency rounds issued by Free Lakota Bank of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, under the American Open Currency Standard. The program traces to the Lakota Nation’s December 19, 2007 withdrawal from the Treaty of Fort Laramie and declaration of sovereign status; AOCS founder Rob Gray states, in his own published company history, that a Lakota currency program followed on November 24, 2008 (a self-reported date, not independently verified against a contemporary source).
That program ran across four related design families rather than a single recurring design: the dated Crazy Horse currency, issued annually from 2008 through 2013 in silver and copper across multiple denominations, with at least one confirmed but extremely scarce gold medallion also struck in 2010; a parallel Sitting Bull design in a smaller half-ounce denomination, now confirmed across three metals — copper, silver, and gold; and a distinct “Free Lakota Bank est. 2008” copper variant carrying a symbolic obverse rather than a portrait. A retrospective “Last Strike” 2008–2013 commemorative, struck across three metals and sold as a signed, numbered set, closed out the program — though evidence suggests the base Last Strike design also circulated more widely at retail beyond that formal 100-unit edition.
An undated, simplified-legend Crazy Horse round attributed to Blockchain Mint (McKinney, TX) — issued in both silver and copper, and a further 2021-dated copper piece likely from the same later era — continue the Crazy Horse design lineage but are issued and distributed by Blockchain Mint, not Free Lakota Bank, and are excluded from this Collection on that basis (see Free & Independent Lakota Blockchain Mint Silver Round).
Free Lakota Bank Collection Designs
Crazy Horse — a bust portrait identified within the series as the Oglala Lakota war leader Crazy Horse, set against a radiating sunburst field evoking a feathered headdress, with “LAKOTA” arched above. Struck annually 2008 through 2013. The reverse depicts a standing American bison beneath “CURRENCY OF THE FREE AND INDEPENDENT NATION,” “WWW.FREELAKOTABANK.COM,” the denomination, “[weight] FINE [metal],” and “AOCS APPROVED · © [year] RJG.” Issued in 1 oz silver ($50) and 1 oz copper (“TWO”) every documented year (copper now confirmed in 2009, 2010, and 2013 specifically, alongside the many undated bulk-lot copper listings that dominate the secondary market), and in a serialized 5 oz silver ($250) denomination confirmed for 2011 (at least two numbered examples located, serial #295 and #352). A period dealer’s own inventory listing additionally names a 2010 1 oz gold “Lakota Crazy Horse” medallion as part of a five-design AOCS Gold series (alongside Andrew Jackson, Ludwig von Mises, Constitution, and Jefferson Davis medallions) — corrected in that listing to a single available unit. This confirms the design existed, though no photograph of the piece itself has been located yet.
Sitting Bull — a companion half-ounce design depicting the Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull, legended “HUNK PAPA LAKOTA” / “SITTING BULL,” with the same bison reverse format. Documented across three metals: copper (“ONE,” confirmed 2011, BU/Proof-Like), silver ($25, BU finish, no struck year located on the known example), and gold (THOUSAND, confirmed 2009 via photographed reverse legend — the earliest confirmed date for this design, predating the copper by two years). The gold example’s listing describes it as a “First Minting” lacking a struck date beside the portrait, implying a second, dated-obverse minting exists that has not yet been located — paralleling the confirmed dated/undated-obverse pattern on the 2010 Crazy Horse copper pair.
“Free Lakota Bank est. 2008” — a 1 oz copper variant with a symbolic obverse (a hand holding an object beside a small seal) legended “FREE LAKOTA BANK” / “est. 2008,” rather than a portrait bust. Shares the standard bison reverse and “TWO” copper denomination. Year of issue for this specific variant is unresolved — cataloguing sources conflict between a 2010-dated reverse legend and a 2012 sale/listing year.
2008–2013 “Last Strike” — a dual-dated (2008/2013) retrospective commemorative marking the close of the program, carrying the Crazy Horse portrait design. Issued as a signed, numbered, limited edition of 100 across three metals (silver, copper, and a gold-toned brass or bronze), sold as a matched set with a shared Certificate of Authenticity. A substantial run of individually-sold examples of the base 1 oz silver proof design — including a separately named “boxed, rim-numbered” variant — turned up at ordinary retail prices well beyond what a strict 100-unit edition would account for, suggesting the signed/numbered/COA’d 3-metal set was a premium packaging of a more widely distributed design rather than the entirety of what was struck.
Free Lakota Bank Collection Specifications
Crazy Horse Specifications:
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Weights & Values | 1 oz silver (Fifty) 1 oz copper (Two) 5 oz silver (Two Hundred Fifty) |
| Diameter | 39 mm silver 39 mm copper unmeasured gold |
| Thickness | 3 mm silver 3 mm copper unmeasured gold) |
| Edge | reeded silver reeded copper unmeasured (gold) |
| Years Documented | Silver: 2008–2013, all six years. Copper: 2009 (possible test strike), 2010 dated and undated-obverse variants), 2013. 5 oz silver: 2011. Gold: 2010 |
Sitting Bull Specifications:
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Weight & Values | 1/2 oz silver (Twenty five) 1/2 oz copper (One) 1/2 oz gold (Thousand) |
| Diameter | unmeasured silver 28 mm copper unmeasured gold |
| Thickness | unmeasured silver 3 mm copper unmeasured gold |
| Edge | reeded silver reeded copper unmeasured gold |
| Years Documented | Copper: 2011 (BU/Proof-Like). Silver: undated on the known example (BU finish confirmed). Gold: 2009, labeled a “First Minting” with an undated obverse — a second, dated-obverse minting is implied but not yet located. |
“Free Lakota Bank est. 2008” Specifications:
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Metal & Weight | 1 oz copper (Two) |
| Diameter | 39 mm |
| Thickness | 3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Years Documented | 2010 or 2012 — unresolved; sources conflict between a 2010-dated reverse legend and a 2012 sale/listing year |
Last Strike 2008–2013 Specifications:
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Metals & Weight | 1 oz silver 1 oz copper 1 oz bronze |
| Dimensions & Edge | Unmeasured |
| Edition | Dual-dated 2008/2013; signed and numbered, limited to 100 in the matched 3-metal COA’d set — though the base 1 oz silver proof design also circulated individually at retail well beyond that 100-unit count |
Figures marked “unmeasured” await a physical example; figures without a citation are drawn from dealer/catalog listings rather than direct caliper measurement and should be treated as approximate pending confirmation against a documented example. The 2010 Crazy Horse gold lead in particular rests on dealer-listing text alone and has not yet been confirmed against a photographed example.
Free Lakota Bank Collection Attribution
Issuer is recorded as Free Lakota Bank across every design and denomination in this Collection, consistent with the site’s convention for AOCS-program rounds. Manufacturer/Mint is recorded as AOCS Mint (attributed) for the 2008–2011 era, transitioning to Mulligan Mint (confirmed) by 2013; 2012 falls within that documented transition window and is attributed to AOCS Mint pending discovery of documentation resolving the handoff more precisely (see the AOCS Mint page for the full manufacturing-partner timeline). No struck mark on any Free Lakota Bank piece identifies a specific contract manufacturer directly; all manufacturer attribution rests on the AOCS Mint program’s documented era-by-era partners, not a mark on the coin itself. The 2010 gold Crazy Horse medallion was sold as part of a broader, multi-design “AOCS Gold” program spanning several unrelated historical/political figures, suggesting gold-medallion production may have run through a distinct arrangement from the standard silver/copper Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull issues; this is noted as an open question rather than a settled attribution.
Designer/Sculptor/Engraver is credited to Kenneth Ferguson on confirmed years (corroborated across multiple independent period dealer listings); this credit is not independently confirmed for every year in the run and should be verified per entry rather than assumed collection-wide. The obverse portrait’s source artwork is Ferguson’s own watercolor-and-gouache painting “Thunder on the Plains (Crazy Horse)” (also listed as “Storm Rider”), which the round’s engraving follows closely.
Free Lakota Bank Collection Notes
- Six consecutive struck years (2008–2013) are documented for the core 1 oz Crazy Horse silver denomination; no year in that run is currently undocumented.
- A dated/undated obverse pair exists for the 2010 1 oz copper Crazy Horse issue — same design and reverse legend, struck from two distinct dies (confirmed by a lettering-size difference in the “AOCS APPROVED · © 2010” text), with only one obverse carrying a struck date.
- The 2009 copper Crazy Horse issue may be a test strike; released-vs-unreleased status is unresolved. A dated 2013 copper issue is separately confirmed via a sold eBay lot listing.
- The 5 oz Crazy Horse denomination is confirmed for 2011, with at least two distinct serialized examples located (#295 and #352); not yet confirmed for other years.
- 2013 silver shows unusually wide finish variety for a single year — Proof, Proof-Like, Business Strike, and BU/Satin-BU have all surfaced in separately sold listings, including individually serialized standard-strike examples (not just the Last Strike set) — and the published entry’s Finish field likely needs to be revisited to specify which.
- A 2010 1 oz gold Crazy Horse medallion is named in a period dealer’s own listing text (part of a five-design AOCS Gold series, corrected down to a single available unit) but has not yet been confirmed against a photographed example.
- The Sitting Bull design is now confirmed across three metals: copper (2011), silver (undated, BU), and gold (2009 — the earliest confirmed date for this design). The gold example’s “First Minting” label implies an undated/dated-obverse pair analogous to the 2010 Crazy Horse copper, with the dated-obverse gold piece not yet located.
- The “Free Lakota Bank est. 2008” copper variant’s year of issue conflicts between sources (2010 reverse legend vs. 2012 listing/sale year) and needs a physical example to resolve.
- The Last Strike 2008–2013 set’s total edition composition (silver/copper/brass-bronze split within the 100-unit limit) and the identity of the COA signature are not yet confirmed; separately, strong evidence indicates the base 1 oz silver proof design was also sold individually at retail well beyond the 100-unit signed/numbered edition.
- Two separate dealer “2015” claims — one silver, one copper — have both been resolved as mislabels: the silver example was an actual struck 2013 date misread, and the copper example is undated and matches the already-documented Blockchain Mint design/era rather than being a genuine new year.
Free Lakota Bank Collection References
- Archived Free Lakota Bank website materials
- Archived American Open Currency Standard (AOCS) materials
- Free Lakota Bank (Pine Ridge, SD), The Texas Stacker
- AOCS Mint (Frisco, TX), The Texas Stacker
- American Open Currency Standard – AOCS, The Texas Stacker
- Numista, Lakota tribes catalogue (en.numista.com/catalogue/exonumia36661.html, exonumia98641.html, exonumia98642.html, pieces98643.html)
- WorthPoint sold listings (Lakota $25 Sitting Bull silver; 2008 Free Lakota Bank silver; various 2010–2015 Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull listings)
- JFV Coins (2008 and 2012 Free Lakota Bank listings)
- CoinTalk forum, “Lakota 1oz silver rounds (Crazy Horse)” thread
- eBay sold-listings research (extensive multi-batch search, “free lakota bank,” 2009–2017 sale dates)
- Documented examples examined (this entry) — 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 silver; both 2010 copper variants; 2021 copper physically owned by Tex; photographed gold Sitting Bull (2009)
- Kenneth Ferguson Fine Art, “Thunder on the Plains (Crazy Horse)” (kennethfergusonfineart.com) — source artwork for the Crazy Horse obverse portrait
- Texas Stacker Archives
Additional documented issues are researched and tracked but do not yet have individual published entries: 2008, 2010, and 2011 (1 oz and 5 oz) silver; the 2010 dated/undated copper pair and the 2013 dated copper; the 2021 copper; the undated Blockchain Mint-era copper (previously mislabeled “2015”); the Sitting Bull design in copper, silver, and gold; the “Free Lakota Bank est. 2008” copper variant; the 2010 gold Crazy Horse medallion (unconfirmed by photo); and the 2008–2013 Last Strike set across three metals.