Find A Liberty Head Nickel Among Your Coins? A Few Fun Facts About It

The Liberty Head nickel was officially minted from 1883 to 1912. However, there was a die created for 1913 for these coins, even though the Buffalo nickel had already been declared as the new nickel. Only five Liberty Head nickels were made using the 1913 die. If you have somehow managed to have one of these among your coin collection, you should have it examined by an expert before starting to spend the fortune it is worth. This is one of the most highly counterfeited coins in the United States. Here are a few other fun facts about the Liberty Head nickel.

Cheaters Turned them into $5 Coins

Originally, the Liberty Head nickel had the Roman numeral "V" on its reverse. This was also used for the gold Half Eagle five-dollar coin. Some inventive people decided to paint the nickels gold and pass them off to unsuspecting people as the five-dollar coins. Once this deception was discovered, the mint changed the reverse of the nickel to include the word "cents" under the "V."

Mint Marks

The Liberty Nickel was minted at the Philadelphia mint exclusively until 1908, at which time it was also minted in San Francisco. In 1911, production began at the Denver mint as well. The mint marks of "S" or "D" are located on the reverse side of the coin in the lower left by the dot before the word "cents." There is no mark for coins minted in Philadelphia.

Low Production Years

The years 1885 and 1886 had fewer Liberty Head nickels produced than normal. Most of those minted went directly into circulation and were not kept as collector pieces. For this reason, a very good, or mint condition coin from those years is worth more money than most Liberty Head nickels, though not nearly worth as much as 1913 coin. In 1894, there was another lull in production. However, this time, it was noticed. Coin collectors took to preserving any coins they found, keeping them in as good a condition as possible. They are still worth more than the coins produced in highly produced years. In addition, there were fewer coins minted in 1912 at the San Francisco and Denver mints, making them a bit more valuable.

Of course, to have a coin be at its highest value, it must be in excellent condition. If you have some of the common Liberty Head nickels that are not it the best condition, put them in a coin protector immediately. While they might not be worth that much right now, as the years go by, they will be worth more. A nice coin collection can be a very good inheritance, even if only for the enjoyment of the coins. You should consider visiting coin stores like Penny Pincher Coins & Jewelry to find additional Liberty Head nickels to expand your collection, since a whole collection is often more valuable than a few single coins.

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