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Liberty Nickels

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1887 Liberty Head Nickel
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1887 Liberty Head Nickel

Liberty Nickels were officially minted between 1883 and 1912. They were made of 75% copper and 25% nickel. They featured a bust if "Liberty" on the front and the Roman Numeral "V" on the reverse.

So, although they are commonly known as Liberty Head Nickels, they are also sometimes referred to as V Nickels.

The first coins minted in 1883 did not include the word "cents" on the back and were very similar in size to the five dollar gold coin.

This was quickly noticed by con artists who took advantage of the fact and coated the nickel with gold to make a quick profit.

Legend has it that a character by the name of Josh Tatum, a deaf mute, was caught trying to pass one of these gold-plated nickels off as a five dollar gold coin. This is supposedly where the slang term "joshing" originated.

This legend has never been proven, however, the mint did add the word "cents" to the coin in the middle of 1883.

There is another interesting bit of history for liberty head nickels. It seems that an employee of the mint made five unofficial liberty head nickels in 1913 and snuck them out of the mint. These five coins, as you can imagine, are very rare and valuable pieces today.




Liberty Head Nickel - Variety 1 Without "CENTS"

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1883 No Cents
Liberty Nickel
1883 No Cents Liberty Nickel
Type Liberty Nickel - Without Cents
Designer Charles E. Barber
Years Minted 1883 only
Weight 5 grams
Composition 75% copper, 25% nickel
Diameter approx. 21.2 mm
Edge plain
Mints Philadelphia - no mint mark
Mintage 5,474,300



Liberty Head Nickel - Variety 2 with "CENTS"

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1883 Liberty Head Nickel with Cents
1883 Liberty Head Nickel with Cents
Type Liberty Nickel - With Cents
Designer Charles E. Barber
Years Minted 1883-1913
Weight 5 grams
Composition 75% copper, 25% nickel
Diameter approx. 21.2 mm
Edge plain
Mints Philadelphia - no mint mark
Denver - D
San Francisco - S
Mintage 1883 - 16,026,200
1884 - 11,270,000
1885 - 1,472,700
1886 - 3,326,000
1887 - 15,260,692
1888 - 10,167,901
1889 - 15,878,025
1890 - 16,256,532
1891 - 16,832,000
1892 - 11,696,897
1893 - 13,368,000
1894 - 5,410,500
1895 - 9,977,822
1896 - 8,841,058
1897 - 20,426,797
1898 - 12,530,292
1899 - 26,027,000
1900 - 27,253,733
1901 - 26,478,228
1902 - 31,487,561
1903 - 28,004,935
1904 - 21,403,167
1905 - 29,825,124
1906 - 38,612,000
1907 - 39,213,325
1908 - 22,684,557
1909 - 11,585,763
1910 - 30,166,948
1911 - 39,557,639
1912 - 26,234,569
1912 D - 8,474,000
1912 S - 238,000
1913 - 5



For some great deals on U.S. Liberty Head Nickels and Coin Supplies visit my friends at Jake's Marketplace, Inc. They have a very comprehensive selection to choose from and give great discounts!



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