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History of the "V" Liberty Nickel
The Liberty Nickel, commonly known as the “V” nickel for
the Roman Numeral "V" on the reverse was officially produced
from 1883 to 1912. We use the word officially because one of
the most famous coins of all is the 1913 Liberty Nickel
which was produced under suspect circumstances. For more on
the famous 1913 Liberty Nickel please refer to the article
titled “History of the Famous 1913 Liberty Nickel”.
In 1881, A. Loudon Snowden, Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint directed
Chief Engraver at the time, Charles Barber, to create designs for the cent,
three-cent piece and the nickel. Snowden believed that all three coins should be
similar in design and metal composition. The designs created by Barber were all
simple in appearance with Lady Liberty on the obverse and a Roman Numeral I, III
or V on the reverse to represent the denomination. Barber completed the request
later that year with all three coins stuck in copper-nickel which was the same
as the Shield Nickel currently in circulation. The Shield Nickel, introduced in
1866, was the first “nickel” sized coin. The half-dime, made of silver, had
previously filled the need for this denomination. The Shield Nickel was well
received despite the fact that during this time period, consumers liked their
coinage in silver and/or gold. And although the nickel was relatively new, its
bland design made it ripe for a redesign. Additionally, during this time period,
there was not yet a federal law establishing the minimum life expectancy for US
coin designs.
Changing the cent, three-cent piece and nickel was not to be. Congress
opposed a change in composition to the cent and the Treasury would not approve a
design change for the three-cent piece. The three-cent silver piece has been
discontinued several years before and the three-cent nickel, with the exception
of 1881 had seen declining mintage numbers. With the nickel seeming to be the
only viable option for change, Barber and Snowden concentrated on making the
change to the nickel a reality. In addition to a design/appearance change,
Snowden also changed the size from 20.5 mm in diameter to 21.2 mm. Snowden
believed that by increasing the diameter and reducing the thickness (the weight
stayed the same), die life would be extended.
After all the finishing touches were complete, there was a special ceremony
on January 30th, 1883 to introduce the new nickel. Those who attended, and were
deemed important, received first strike coins. A few days later, regular
production began. The new nickels had hardly been circulated when a major
problem surfaced. The coin did not contain the word “cents” and con artists of
the day were plating the nickel with gold and passing them off as $5.00 gold
pieces. Because the nickel was still new, the general public was not aware of
the new nickel and since the “V” was the only symbol of value, it could mean 5
cents or 5 dollars. Unfortunately for the mint, nearly 5 ˝ million nickels had
already been produced and released. Barber quickly created a new design, this
one with the word cents prominently displayed on the back. The first nickels
soon became known as the “no cents” nickels. The nickels that were gold plated
became known as “racketeer nickels” and can still be found in old hoards and
collections.
In the end, over 16 million nickels were produced in 1883. Even though far
more 1883 nickels with the word “cents” were produced, they are harder to get in
good grades. The “no cents” variety was saved by people thinking that they would
be recalled/replaced.
After this initial controversy, the Liberty Nickel settled down to a calm
life. There were no significant changes during the life span of the nickel, and
for all but the final year, all the nickels were made in Philadelphia. In the
final year of official production, 1912, nickels were also made in Denver and
San Francisco. 1913 gave way to the Buffalo Nickel followed by changed in the
dime, quarter and half dollar.
Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years. His website has
US coins for sale. He also writes
Coin Collecting Articles for fun. Visit his websites for a history of US coins,
metal market updates and news about your favorite coins.
Want to discuss the Liberty Nickel? Join the coin forum.
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