Liberty Nickel

The Liberty Head Nickel represented the first major change since the nickel denomination was introduced in 1866 . The Liberty Nickel was struck continuously from 1883 until 1912, when it was changed again to the Buffalo Nickel design. Mostly produced at the Philadelphia Mint, the last year also saw coinage of the denomination, for the first time, at the Denver and San Francisco Mints.

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The nickel denomination was struck together with the half dime, from 1866 to 1873. After the Mint act of February 12, 1873 came into effect, the half dime denomination was discontinued and the Nickel served as the only 5 cent denomination.

The Liberty Nickel, introduced in 1883 was designed by Charles E. Barber. A rendering of Liberty is on the obverse, with thirteen stars around and the date below. On the reverse, a Roman V, meaning 5 is within a agricultural wreath. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around and E PLURIBUS UNUM is under the wreath. This design, struck in 1883 only, had no mention of the denomination.

This situation led to pieces of the new Nickels being gold-plated, and passed as $5 gold pieces. Some people accepted these, believing that they were genuine gold coins and worth $5 instead of 5 cents. The Mint soon caught the problem, and later that year the reverse was changed. The motto was now on top, and below the wreath was the word CENTS. This design was used for the duration of the series.

There are five known 1913 Liberty Head Nickels, and numismatists have been intrigued with them ever since their mintage. Illegally created either by or for Mint employee William Brown, they were never meant to exist. However, they are now considered by some to be regular issues. In this scenario, only five complete Liberty Head Nickel sets could be completed at the same time! This fact and the special circumstances of these coins, make most collectors correctly indicate them as fantasy pieces (as many patterns are) and not a regular US mint issue.

Proof coins were made for collectors during all years the design was made for circulation. These are readily available, as they were minted in relatively large quantities. A popular series to collect, the full Liberty Nickel set in either proof or circulation strike format makes for a very challenging series in high grade.