The 1912-S Liberty Nickel has the lowest mintage of the series by far, with only 238,000 produced. The next lowest mintage is the 1885 Liberty Nickel with 1,472,700 produced. Even though the 1912-S has a very low mintage, the 1885 is more rare. Many 1912-S Liberty Nickels were retained before they had a chance to [...]

As with the previous year, the 1886 Liberty Nickel experienced a reduced mintage. The total number of coins struck for circulation at the Philadelphia Mint was 3,326,000, which ranks the coin as the third lowest mintage of the series. Coins are priced at a premium, even in lower circulated grades. Particularly interesting is the fact [...]

The 1885 Liberty Nickel has the second lowest mintage of the series, with 1,472,700 pieces struck for circulation. Although the 1912-S has a lower mintage, the 1885 is generally considered to be the key date of the Liberty Nickels series. Examples of the coin are expensive across all grade levels, including well circulated pieces. The [...]

The 1883 Liberty Nickel represented the first year of issue for the series. The coin was issued with two different reverse designs. The first is “without CENTS” referring to the lack of identification of the denomination, while the second is known as “with CENTS”. The alteration of the design represents one of the often recounted [...]

As with all nickels produced since 1866, except for the silver war nickels of 1942-1945, the Liberty Nickels are made out of a composition of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Each coin has a standard weight of 5 grams and diameter of 21.2 mm with a plain edge. All coins of the series were struck [...]