US Liberty Nickels (1883-1913)

US Liberty Nickels (1883-1913): Hidden Gems Among Common Coins

The US Liberty Nickel was produced from 1883 to 1913. Some of these coins were produced by the tens of millions, while one had a production run of only five. You will find it a fascinating coin to collect since there is a considerable variation in collectibility across the series.

The 1913 Liberty Nickel

The 1913 Liberty Nickel is considered to be one of the most valuable coins in the world. In 1913, the Indian head design for nickels was introduced. However, a master die was created for the 1913 Liberty Nickel, and a five-coin test run was struck. These uncirculated coins have sold for record-breaking amounts over the years. The location of all five of these coins is known. Three are in private collections, and two are in museums.

However, due to the extreme rarity of the 1913 Liberty Nickel, counterfeiting is more common for this coin than most others. These counterfeits are produced through the modification of the 1903 or 1910 nickel. These fake coins are themselves collectible, but only if you know that you are collecting a forgery.

Know your mint marks if you collect reasonably priced US Liberty Nickels

Until April 24, 1906, it was illegal for nickels to be minted anywhere but the Philadelphia mint. A few years after the law changed, other United States mints started producing nickels. 1912 is the only year when all three US mints produced these coins. The production volume varied immensely over the three mints. The Philadelphia mint produced 26 million nickels. Coins minted in Philadelphia have no mintmark. The Denver mint produced 8.5 million Liberty Nickels with the "D" mintmark. A Denver minted coin can be worth four times as much as a comparable Philadelphia minted coin. The San Fransisco mint's mintmark, the "S," only produced nickels for four days in 1912. There were only about 200,000 coins produced, and they can sell for 10 times what the Philadelphia US Liberty Nickels do. The 1912S Liberty Nickel is highly collectible as a consequence. For more affordable US Liberty Nickels, you should stick to the Philadelphia minted coins.

Which other years of the preowned US Liberty Nickels 1883-1913 are most valuable?

The other vintages of nickels that you might want to consider for your coin collection are the 1883 minting and the pre-1899 mintings. Find collectible Liberty Nickel coins on eBay.

The Liberty Nickel was first produced in 1883 to replace paper currency. The Liberty nickel had a large Roman numeral V to denote five but did not include the word "cents" on the coin. The coin was also the same size as the five-dollar gold coin. Clever criminals gold-plated the Liberty Nickels and passed them off as $5 coins. In June of 1883, the coin was redesigned to include the word "cents."

The old "cents-less" coins are quite collectible. You might even want to add one of the old $5 forgeries to your coin collection. The post-June 1883 nickels are somewhat rarer but tend to be in circulated condition.

You might also want to collect the 1883 to 1898 nickels. At the turn of the century, coin-operated machines started to appear. Many of these machines took nickels, and the demand for this denomination skyrocketed. The production volume of nickels doubled or tripled for the post-1899 runs. As a consequence, the pre-1899 vintages are scarcer.

Content provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.