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Miss Liberty showed up again on
the US five-cent coin in 1883. The
Shield Nickel, in production since
1866, was viewed as rather plain and unimpressive, and had few defenders when
talks began to replace it with something more stylish.
Mint Engraver
Charles Barber's design consisted of Liberty on the obverse, surrounded by 13
stars. The reverse was dominated by the Roman numeral V within a wreath.
The new Liberty Nickel, also called the "V" Nickel, was released into circulation in February, 1883.
Very soon thereafter, the Mint realized a serious omission on the new "V"
nickel design had occurred. No where on the coin did the word "CENTS"
appear. This oversight gave swindlers the idea of gold-plating the coins,
and passing them off as $5 gold coins! Since the Liberty Nickel was new,
many victims were taken in. The word "CENTS" was quickly added to the
reverse, creating two major varieties of the Liberty Nickel in 1883. These
gold-plated "V" nickels came to be known as "Racketeer Nickels" and carry a
slight premium due to their connection to one of the strangest events in
American numismatics.
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Liberty Nickel
Specifications |
Diameter: |
Weight: |
Minted: |
Composition: |
Designer |
Edge: |
21.2 mm |
5.00 g |
1883-1913 |
.750 Cu .250
Ni |
Charles Barber |
Plain |
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Coin Photos courtesy of
Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA. |
The most infamous distributor of the Racketeer Nickel was a Boston man named Josh
Tatum. He linked up with a friend who gold electroplated thousands of
the new “V” nickels. Tatum successfully passed many of these off as
five-dollar gold coins, buying small items to receive at least four real
dollars in change.
Eventually, the law caught up with Tatum. He was put on
trial, but was found not guilty on the major charges. It seems he never told
merchants the gold-plated coin was worth five dollars, nor did he ask for any
change; he simply presented the coin and happily accepted the money offered in
return. The court accepted Tatum’s argument that he did not speak falsely of
the coin, for as a deaf mute, he couldn’t talk!
An unproven tale has been
handed down from the case of Josh Tatum and the Racketeer Nickel. Some generations ago,
the slang term “joshing” became a popular synonym for the word "kidding",
supposedly attributed to Josh Tatum. The
next time someone laughs and says “I’m only joshing you”, the image of a
speechless man presenting a fake five dollar coin in an 1883 general store
ought to come to mind!
Regular production for the Liberty Nickel ended in 1912. In 1913, a
total of five Liberty nickels were minted, under somewhat suspicious
circumstances. Today, this coin ranks among the most legendary of all in
American numismatics. On rare occasions, when a 1913 Liberty Nickel
changes ownership, the coin commands millions of dollars. When a PF-66
example sold in April 2007, the $5 million price tag created headlines across
the general news media. Don't look for
a genuine specimen to show up anytime soon on a routine eBay coin auction.
There are a three key date Liberty Nickel coins worth collecting that will
likely appear somewhere under the "Buy Coins on eBay" banner. They are:
Key date Liberty Head "V" Nickels are offered for sale below
through US coin eBay auctions. The left
hand side of each "Sales Box" is value trend data over a very long period of
time for a coin of that date in VG-8 condition. The percent annual
increase is computed for comparative purposes. The coin pictured for
sale in the right hand side, if any, is not necessarily the same condition coin as that
represented in the value trend analysis on left hand side.
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1885
Liberty Nickel
Condition: VG-8
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1886
Liberty Nickel
Condition: VG-8
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Value Trends
1950: $10.00
1980: $150
1995: $250
2003: $400
2007: $750
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Value Trends
1950: $4.00
1980: $50.00
1995: $75.00
2003: $200
2007: $325
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
7.87%
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
8.02%
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1912-S
Liberty Nickel
Condition: VG-8
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Value Trends
1950: $2.50
1980: $40.00
1995: $45.00
2003: $150
2007: $225
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
8.21%
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Half Cents
1793-1857 |
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Large Cents
1793-1857 |
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Flying Eagle Cents
1856-1858 |
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Indian Head Cents
1859-1909 |
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Lincoln Cents
1909-present |
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Two and Three
Cents 1851-1889 |
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Shield Nickels
1866-1883 |
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Liberty Nickels
1883-1913 |
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Buffalo Nickels
1913-1938 |
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Jefferson Nickels 1938-present |
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Early Half Dimes
1792-1837 |
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Seated Liberty Half Dimes 1837-1873 |
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Early Dimes
1796-1837 |
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Seated Liberty Dimes 1837-1891 |
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Barber Dimes
1892-1916 |
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Mercury Dimes
1916-1945 |
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Roosevelt Dimes 1946-present |
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Twenty Cents
1875-1878 |
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Early Quarters
1796-1838 |
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Seated Liberty Quarters 1838-1891 |
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Barber Quarters
1892-1916 |
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Standing Liberty
Quarters 1916-1930 |
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Washington
Quarters 1932-present |
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Early Half Dollars
1794-1839 |
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Seated Liberty
Half Dollars 1839-1891 |
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Barber Half
Dollars 1892-1915 |
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Walking Liberty
Half Dollars 1916-1947 |
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Franklin Half
Dollars 1948-1963 |
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Kennedy Half Dollars 1964-Present |
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Early Dollars
1794-1804 |
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Gobrecht Dollars 1836-1839 |
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Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873 |
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Trade Dollars
1873-1885 |
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Morgan Dollars
1878-1921 |
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Peace Dollars
1921-1935 |
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Eisenhower Dollars
1971-1978 |
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Anthony Dollars
1979-1981,1999 |
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Sacagawea Dollars
2000-present |
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Presidential Dollars
2007-present |
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Gold Dollars
1849-1889 |
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Early Quarter Eagles 1796-1834 |
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Classic Head Quarter Eagles 1834-1839 |
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Coronet Quarter
Eagles 1840-1907 |
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Indian Head
Quarter Eagles 1908-1929 |
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Three Dollar Gold
1854-1889 |
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Early Half Eagles
1795-1834 |
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Classic Head Half Eagles 1834-1838 |
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Coronet Half
Eagles 1839-1908 |
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Indian Head Half
Eagles 1908-1929 |
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Early Eagles
1795-1804 |
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Coronet Eagles
1838-1907 |
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Indian Head Eagles
1907-1933 |
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Coronet Double
Eagles 1849-1907 |
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St-Gaudens Double
Eagles 1907-1933 |
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The Brooklyn Bridge was opened on May 24, 1883.
At top is how the bridge looked in its early days. The bottom photo
was taken in recent years. The bridge itself looks much the same, but
the New York City skyline has changed dramatically. On its first day,
1800 vehicles crossed the bridge, at a cost of five cents each. No
doubt many people paid the toll with a shiny new 1883 Liberty Nickel.
Public domain images. |
