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Liberty Nickels

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 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, wasreleased 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.


1883 Liberty Nickel obv1883 Liberty Nickel obv
Liberty Nickel Specifications
Diameter:Weight:Minted:Composition:DesignerEdge:
21.2 mm5.00 g1883-1913.750 Cu .250 NiCharles BarberPlain
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.



1885
Liberty Nickel
Condition: VG-8
1886
Liberty Nickel
Condition: VG-8
% Annual Increase Since 1950  =

7.59%
% Annual Increase Since 1950  =

8.12%


1912-S
Liberty Nickel
Condition: VG-8
% Annual Increase Since 1950  =

8.29%

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Half Cents 1793-1857
Large Cents 1793-1857
Flying Eagle Cents 1856-1858
Indian Head Cents 1859-1909
Lincoln Cents 1909-present
Two and Three Cents 1851-1889
Shield Nickels 1866-1883
Liberty Nickels 1883-1913
Buffalo Nickels 1913-1938
Jefferson Nickels 1938-present
Early Half Dimes 1792-1837
Seated Liberty Half Dimes 1837-1873
Early Dimes 1796-1837
Seated Liberty Dimes 1837-1891
Barber Dimes 1892-1916
Mercury Dimes 1916-1945
Roosevelt Dimes 1946-present
Twenty Cents 1875-1878
Early Quarters 1796-1838
Seated Liberty Quarters 1838-1891
Barber Quarters 1892-1916
Standing Liberty Quarters 1916-1930
Washington Quarters 1932-present
Early Half Dollars 1794-1839
Seated Liberty Half Dollars 1839-1891
Barber Half Dollars 1892-1915
Walking Liberty Half Dollars 1916-1947
Franklin Half Dollars 1948-1963
Kennedy Half Dollars 1964-Present
Early Dollars 1794-1804
Gobrecht Dollars 1836-1839
Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873
Trade Dollars 1873-1885
Morgan Dollars 1878-1921
Peace Dollars 1921-1935
Eisenhower Dollars 1971-1978
Anthony Dollars 1979-1981,1999
Sacagawea Dollars 2000-present
Presidential Dollars 2007-present
Gold Dollars 1849-1889
Early Quarter Eagles 1796-1834
Classic Head Quarter Eagles 1834-1839
Coronet Quarter Eagles 1840-1907
Indian Head Quarter Eagles 1908-1929
Three Dollar Gold 1854-1889
Early Half Eagles 1795-1834
Classic Head Half Eagles 1834-1838
Coronet Half Eagles 1839-1908
Indian Head Half Eagles 1908-1929
Early Eagles 1795-1804
Coronet Eagles 1838-1907
Indian Head Eagles 1907-1933
Coronet Double Eagles 1849-1907
St-Gaudens Double Eagles 1907-1933
Brooklyn Bridge 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.

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