Background

The Shield Nickel was produced from 1866 through 1883. It has a Copper core with a Nickel coating based on the1865 Copper/Nickel three cent piece. This Copper/Nickel construct is used for many coins today.

There were problems manufacturing the Shield Nickel and it was replaced by the new Liberty Head Nickel. The Liberty Head Nickel was designed by Charles Barber, and made of the same Copper/Nickel construct as the Shield Nickel. The new design mitigated manufacturing problems. Production of the Liberty Nickel began in 1883.

The Liberty Nickel (V Nickel)

Charles Barber designed the Liberty Nickel (also known as the V Nickel). It has the same physical specifications as the Shield Nickel; Copper/Nickel composition, 5 Gram weight, a little larger in diameter.

The Philadelphia Mint began manufacturing the V Nickel in 1883

The Obverse has a bust of Liberty, 13 stars, and the date at 6 O’clock.

The Reverse has a large V (Roman Numeral 5), a wreath, USA Spelled out, and the US Motto “E Pluribus Unum” (From many, one).

First Year Design Change

The Liberty Nickel did not have the denomination as part of the design (other than the V, Roman Numeral 5). It was almost the same size as a $5 Gold Piece. Some counterfeiters plated the nickels with gold and spent them as $5 coins.

After about 4 months of production, the Mint had Barber fix the problem by adding the word “CENTS” to the reverse. 1883 V Nickels without “CENTS” are therefore more valuable because of their scarcity

No Cents vs Cents

Here is an example of the 1883 design change from “No Cents” to “Cents”.

Production

Liberty Nickels were produced without any further design changes until the series was completed in 1913. There was a lull in production in 1885 and 1886, causing today’s high prices for those issues. 1894, 1895, and 1896 had lower mintages than usual. From 1897 through the end of the series in 1912 there were high mintages, so these are easy to find today.

Mint Marks

All Liberty Nickels were made in Philadelphia until the final year of production in 1912. Here are examples of Denver and San Francisco mint marks.

Value of Selected Issues

The Liberty Nickel coins are relatively easy to find in today’s market, but it has some higher valued issues as shown below.                                        Approximate retail prices as of January 2021

The 1913 Liberty Nickel

The Liberty Nickel’s production was supposed to stop after 1912. Somehow five were made with a 1913 date. These were not made by law and should have been destroyed if made.

Three are today owned by collectors and two by museums. They have been sold at very high prices, the highest at $5 Million. There is plenty of interesting information and intrigue available around these five coins

Summary

The Liberty Head Nickel was made from 1883 through 1912. The denomination "Cents" was added to the reverse in 1883. There were a few years with low production, causing high prices in today's market. There were no mint marks on the Liberty Nickel until 1912. There are five Liberty Nickels with a 1913 date worth millions of dollars each.

Happy Hunting!