Liberty Head nickel
Encyclopedia
The Liberty Head nickel, sometimes referred to as the V nickel due to its reverse
(or tails) design, was an American five-cent piece. It was struck for circulation from 1883 until 1912, with at least five pieces being surreptitiously struck dated 1913.
The original copper–nickel five-cent piece, the Shield nickel
, had longstanding production problems, and in the early 1880s, the United States Mint
was looking to replace it. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber
was instructed to prepare designs for proposed one-, three-, and five-cent pieces, which were to bear similar designs. Only the new five-cent piece was approved, and went into production in 1883. For almost thirty years large quantities of coin of this design were produced to meet commercial demand, especially as coin-operated machines became increasingly popular.
Beginning in 1911, the Mint began work to replace the Liberty head design, and a new design, which became known as the Buffalo nickel, went into production in February 1913. Although no 1913 Liberty head nickels
were officially struck, five are known to exist. While it is uncertain how these pieces originated, they have come to be among the most expensive coins in the world, with one selling in 2010 for $3,737,500.
, who had interests in nickel
mining and production, had been influential in the decision to use the metal in coinage in the mid-1860s, leading to the introduction of the Shield nickel
in 1866.
The Shield nickel presented difficulties through its life: the intricate design made the coins not strike well. Modification to the design failed to solve the technical problems, and the mint had considered replacing the design as early as 1867. Nevertheless, the Shield nickel remained in production. With production of copper–nickel five-cent pieces lagging in the late 1870s, and with production of the copper-nickel three-cent piece
nearly moribund, Wharton sought to increase his sales of nickel to the United States Mint
. Although copper-nickel coins were struck only in small numbers, the bronze cent represented a major portion of the Mint's production, and Wharton began to lobby for the piece to be struck in copper-nickel.
In 1881, this lobbying led Mint Superintendent Archibald Loudon Snowden to order Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber
to produce uniform designs for a new cent, three-cent piece, and five-cent piece. Snowden informed Barber that the proposed designs were to feature on the obverse (or heads side) a classic head of Liberty
with the legend "Liberty" and the date. The reverse (or tails side) was to feature a wreath of wheat, cotton, and corn around a roman numeral designating the denomination of the coin; thus the five-cent piece was to have the roman numeral "V". The proposal for the cent would decrease its size to 16 millimetre (0.62992125984252 in) and its weight to 1.5 gram (0.0529109431576679 oz), and the modifications to the three-cent piece would increase its size to 19 millimetre (0.748031496062992 in) and its weight to 3 gram (0.105821886315336 oz). The nickel would retain its weight of 5 gram (0.17636981052556 oz), but its diameter would be increased to 22 millimetre (0.866141732283465 in).
Barber duly produced the required designs. Fairly large numbers of pattern coin
s were struck. Barber's design for the nickel showed a portrait similar to that eventually adopted for the obverse, with "United States of America" and the date. The reverse featured the required wreath surrounding the "V", and no other lettering. A modified pattern design later that year added the words "In God We Trust" to the reverse. Snowden decided that the proposed cents and three-cent pieces would be too small for public use, but Barber continued work on the nickel, with the size adjusted to 21.21 millimetre (0.83503937007874 in). Barber reworked the design in 1882, adding "E Pluribus Unum
" to the reverse. One variant that was struck as a pattern, but was not adopted, was a coin with five equally-spaced notches in the rim of the coin. This "Blind Man's nickel" was struck at the request of Congressman and former Union General William S. Rosecrans, who stated that many of his wartime
colleagues had been blinded by combat or disease.
Late that year, Barber's 1882 design was endorsed by Mint authorities, and 25 specimens were sent to Washington for routine approval by Treasury Secretary
Charles J. Folger
. To Snowden's surprise, Folger rejected the design. The secretary, on review of the coinage statutes, had realized that the laws required "United States of America" to appear on the reverse, not the obverse. Folger had then consulted with President Chester Arthur, who confirmed Folger's opinion. Snowden suggested that an exception should be made, but Folger refused, and Barber modified his design accordingly. The revised design was approved, and the coin was ready for striking in early 1883.
It had not been thought necessary to inscribe the word "cents" on the nickel; the silver and copper-nickel three-cent pieces had circulated for years with only a Roman numeral to indicate the denomination. Enterprising fraudsters soon realized that the new nickel was close in diameter to that of the five-dollar gold piece
, and if the new coin was gold-plated, it might be passed for five dollars. They soon did so, and had success in passing the coin. Some coins were given a reeded edge by the fraudsters, to make them appear more like the gold coins. A widespread tale is that one of the perpetrators of this fraud was a man named Josh Tatum, who would go into a store, select an item costing five cents or less, and offer the gold-plated piece in payment—and many clerks gave him $4.95 in change. According to the tale, the law had no recourse against Tatum, as he had merely accepted the change as a gift, and could not have misrepresented the value of the coin as he was a deaf-mute.
The plating of the nickels caused consternation at the Mint, and brought production of Liberty Head nickels to a sudden stop. Barber was told to modify his design, which he did, moving other design elements to accommodate the word "cents" at the bottom of the reverse design. The revised nickel was issued on June 26, 1883, the date on which production of the Shield nickel was finally stopped. The public responded by hoarding the "centless" nickels, egged on by reports that the Treasury Department intended to recall those nickels, and that they would become rare.
which lowered demand for the coins. The 1886 production was also depressed by the Treasury's decision to reissue large numbers of worn minor coins. It was not until September 1886 that the Mint resumed full production of the coin. By 1887, however, the Mint was overwhelmed by orders, melting down large quantities of older copper-nickel coins to meet the demand. Despite these efforts, the Mint was forced to return many orders unfilled. Demand remained strong until 1894, when the Mint temporarily suspended production as it had accumulated a surplus during the Panic of 1893
.
The Coinage Act of 1890 retired a number of obsolete denominations, including the three-cent piece. Another Act of Congress, also enacted on September 26, 1890 required that coinage designs not be changed until they had been in use 25 years, unless Congress authorized the change. However, the second act indicated that nothing in the law was to prevent the redesign of the current five-cent piece and silver dollar
"as soon as practicable after the passage of this act". In 1896, pattern nickels were struck for the first time since 1885, when experimental, holed coins had been tested. The 1896 pieces, which featured a simple shield with arrows crossed behind it, were struck in response to a resolution of the House of Representatives
asking the Secretary of the Treasury to report to it on the advantages and disadvantages of using various alloys in coinage. Pattern nickels would not be struck again until 1909.
The turn of the century saw unprecedented demand for nickels, due to a booming economy and the use of nickels in coin-operated machines. In 1900, Mint Director George E. Roberts called on Congress to grant the Mint a larger appropriation to purchase base metals, allowing for greater production of nickels and cents. The same year, the design was modified slightly, lengthening some of the leaves on the reverse. This change occurred with the introduction of a new hub, from which coining dies were made. Demand for the coins remained heavy; in March 1911, Mehl's Numismatic Monthly reported that the Mint was working twenty-four hours a day to produce cents and nickels, and even so was failing to satisfy demand.
Mint directors, in their annual reports, had long called for the authority to strike cents and nickels at branch mints, which was forbidden by Congress. On April 24, 1906, this restriction was removed, although the first base metal coins, cents in both cases, were not struck at San Francisco
until 1908 and Denver
until 1911. In 1912, nickels were coined for the first time at each of the two branch mints. The 1912-S (for San Francisco) nickel was not struck until Christmas Eve, and was only struck for four business days. A 1912-S nickel, one of the first forty coined, was used by former San Francisco Mayor James D. Phelan
to pay the first fare on the city's first streetcar on December 28, 1912. Excluding the 1913 nickel, the 1912-S, with only 238,000 struck, is by far the rarest in the series.
was an admirer of Barber's work, and had him prepare designs to be struck as patterns. Barber, at Leach's request, prepared a design showing Washington
's head, and newspapers reported that new coins might be issued by the end of 1909. In July 1909, however, Leach resigned, putting an end to the matter for the time being.
On May 4, 1911, Eames MacVeagh, son of Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh
wrote to his father:
Soon afterwards, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Abram Andrew
announced that the Mint would be soliciting new designs. Well-known sculptor James Earle Fraser approached Treasury officials, who were impressed by his proposals. Mint Director Roberts initially asked Fraser for a design featuring a bust of Lincoln
, which he produced, mainly to please Roberts, but Fraser also developed a design featuring a Native American on the obverse, with an American bison
on the reverse. This design was given preliminary approval by MacVeagh on January 13, 1912, and would come to be known as the Buffalo nickel. In late June, Fraser completed the model of the final design. The specifications of the new nickel were provided to the Hobbs Manufacturing Company, a maker of vending machines, which, following a meeting with Fraser in early November, opined that the new coins would likely jam its machines. At the company's request, Fraser prepared a revised version, but Secretary MacVeagh rejected it on the grounds that the changes compromised the design, which he greatly admired.
On December 13, 1912, Roberts warned the Mint staff to take no action in preparation for the 1913 five-cent coinage until the new designs were ready. He ended production of the Liberty Head nickel at the Philadelphia Mint
the same day. A minor change was made to the Buffalo design in an attempt to satisfy the Hobbs Company, which promptly provided a lengthy list of changes it wanted made to the coin. On February 15, 1913, with less than three weeks until he would have to leave office on the advent of the Wilson
administration, McVeagh wrote to Roberts, noting that no other vending or slot machine maker had complained about the new design. The Secretary concluded that everything possible had been done to satisfy the Hobbs Company, and ordered the new nickel put into production.
(ANA) convention. Brown related that a master die had been prepared for the 1913 Liberty head nickels, and a few pieces had been run off to test the die. As it turned out, Brown possessed five coins, which he eventually sold. After spending fifteen years in the hands of the eccentric Col. E.H.R. Green
, the famous Fort Worth, Texas, area collector, the coins were finally dispersed in 1943. Since then, the coins have had several owners each. Today, two are on public display—at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington and the ANA's Money Museum in Colorado Springs
, while three are owned privately. The most recent sale of a 1913 Liberty Head nickel was in January 2010, when one sold for $3,737,500 in an auction.
It is uncertain how the 1913 nickels came to be made. The Mint's records show no production of 1913 Liberty head nickels, and none were authorized to be made. Dies were prepared in advance and sent to California for a 1913-S Liberty Head nickel coinage, but upon Roberts's instruction to stop coinage, they were ordered returned to Philadelphia. They were received by December 23, and were almost certainly destroyed routinely by early January. Brown had been an employee at the Philadelphia Mint (although this was not known until 1963) and many theories focus suspicion on him.
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
(or tails) design, was an American five-cent piece. It was struck for circulation from 1883 until 1912, with at least five pieces being surreptitiously struck dated 1913.
The original copper–nickel five-cent piece, the Shield nickel
Shield nickel
The Shield nickel was the first United States five cent piece to be made out of copper-nickel, the same alloy of which American nickels are struck today. Designed by James B. Longacre, the coin was issued from 1866 until 1883, when it was replaced by the Liberty Head nickel...
, had longstanding production problems, and in the early 1880s, the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
was looking to replace it. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber
Charles E. Barber
Charles Edward Barber was the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. He succeeded his father, William Barber, in the position...
was instructed to prepare designs for proposed one-, three-, and five-cent pieces, which were to bear similar designs. Only the new five-cent piece was approved, and went into production in 1883. For almost thirty years large quantities of coin of this design were produced to meet commercial demand, especially as coin-operated machines became increasingly popular.
Beginning in 1911, the Mint began work to replace the Liberty head design, and a new design, which became known as the Buffalo nickel, went into production in February 1913. Although no 1913 Liberty head nickels
1913 Liberty Head Nickel
The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is an American five-cent piece which was produced in extremely limited quantities without the authority of the United States Mint, making it one of the best-known and most coveted rarities in American numismatics...
were officially struck, five are known to exist. While it is uncertain how these pieces originated, they have come to be among the most expensive coins in the world, with one selling in 2010 for $3,737,500.
Origin
Industrialist Joseph WhartonJoseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
, who had interests in nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
mining and production, had been influential in the decision to use the metal in coinage in the mid-1860s, leading to the introduction of the Shield nickel
Shield nickel
The Shield nickel was the first United States five cent piece to be made out of copper-nickel, the same alloy of which American nickels are struck today. Designed by James B. Longacre, the coin was issued from 1866 until 1883, when it was replaced by the Liberty Head nickel...
in 1866.
The Shield nickel presented difficulties through its life: the intricate design made the coins not strike well. Modification to the design failed to solve the technical problems, and the mint had considered replacing the design as early as 1867. Nevertheless, the Shield nickel remained in production. With production of copper–nickel five-cent pieces lagging in the late 1870s, and with production of the copper-nickel three-cent piece
Three-cent piece (United States coin)
The United States three cent piece was a unit of currency equaling 3/100th of a United States dollar. The mint produced two different three-cent coins: the three-cent silver and the three-cent nickel. Its purchasing power in 1851 would be equivalent to $ today.-History:The three cent coin has an...
nearly moribund, Wharton sought to increase his sales of nickel to the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
. Although copper-nickel coins were struck only in small numbers, the bronze cent represented a major portion of the Mint's production, and Wharton began to lobby for the piece to be struck in copper-nickel.
In 1881, this lobbying led Mint Superintendent Archibald Loudon Snowden to order Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber
Charles E. Barber
Charles Edward Barber was the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. He succeeded his father, William Barber, in the position...
to produce uniform designs for a new cent, three-cent piece, and five-cent piece. Snowden informed Barber that the proposed designs were to feature on the obverse (or heads side) a classic head of Liberty
Libertas
Libertas was the Roman goddess and embodiment of liberty.- Temples and derived inspirations :In 238 BC, before the Second Punic War, having long been a Roman deity along with other personified virtues, Libertas assumed goddess status...
with the legend "Liberty" and the date. The reverse (or tails side) was to feature a wreath of wheat, cotton, and corn around a roman numeral designating the denomination of the coin; thus the five-cent piece was to have the roman numeral "V". The proposal for the cent would decrease its size to 16 millimetre (0.62992125984252 in) and its weight to 1.5 gram (0.0529109431576679 oz), and the modifications to the three-cent piece would increase its size to 19 millimetre (0.748031496062992 in) and its weight to 3 gram (0.105821886315336 oz). The nickel would retain its weight of 5 gram (0.17636981052556 oz), but its diameter would be increased to 22 millimetre (0.866141732283465 in).
Barber duly produced the required designs. Fairly large numbers of pattern coin
Pattern coin
A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, produced for the purpose of evaluating a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strikes, to proof standard or piedforts...
s were struck. Barber's design for the nickel showed a portrait similar to that eventually adopted for the obverse, with "United States of America" and the date. The reverse featured the required wreath surrounding the "V", and no other lettering. A modified pattern design later that year added the words "In God We Trust" to the reverse. Snowden decided that the proposed cents and three-cent pieces would be too small for public use, but Barber continued work on the nickel, with the size adjusted to 21.21 millimetre (0.83503937007874 in). Barber reworked the design in 1882, adding "E Pluribus Unum
E pluribus unum
E pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
" to the reverse. One variant that was struck as a pattern, but was not adopted, was a coin with five equally-spaced notches in the rim of the coin. This "Blind Man's nickel" was struck at the request of Congressman and former Union General William S. Rosecrans, who stated that many of his wartime
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
colleagues had been blinded by combat or disease.
Late that year, Barber's 1882 design was endorsed by Mint authorities, and 25 specimens were sent to Washington for routine approval by Treasury Secretary
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Charles J. Folger
Charles J. Folger
Charles James Folger was an American lawyer and politician. He was U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1881 until his death.-Early life:...
. To Snowden's surprise, Folger rejected the design. The secretary, on review of the coinage statutes, had realized that the laws required "United States of America" to appear on the reverse, not the obverse. Folger had then consulted with President Chester Arthur, who confirmed Folger's opinion. Snowden suggested that an exception should be made, but Folger refused, and Barber modified his design accordingly. The revised design was approved, and the coin was ready for striking in early 1883.
Release
Striking of the new coins began on January 30, 1883, and the Mint placed the first pieces in circulation on February 1. Snowden, concerned about reports of speculation in 1883 Shield nickels, received permission on February 6 to continue striking Shield nickels for several months alongside the new pieces.It had not been thought necessary to inscribe the word "cents" on the nickel; the silver and copper-nickel three-cent pieces had circulated for years with only a Roman numeral to indicate the denomination. Enterprising fraudsters soon realized that the new nickel was close in diameter to that of the five-dollar gold piece
Half Eagle
The Half Eagle is a United States coin that was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929 and in commemorative and bullion coins since the 1980s. Composed almost entirely of gold, it has a face value of five dollars...
, and if the new coin was gold-plated, it might be passed for five dollars. They soon did so, and had success in passing the coin. Some coins were given a reeded edge by the fraudsters, to make them appear more like the gold coins. A widespread tale is that one of the perpetrators of this fraud was a man named Josh Tatum, who would go into a store, select an item costing five cents or less, and offer the gold-plated piece in payment—and many clerks gave him $4.95 in change. According to the tale, the law had no recourse against Tatum, as he had merely accepted the change as a gift, and could not have misrepresented the value of the coin as he was a deaf-mute.
The plating of the nickels caused consternation at the Mint, and brought production of Liberty Head nickels to a sudden stop. Barber was told to modify his design, which he did, moving other design elements to accommodate the word "cents" at the bottom of the reverse design. The revised nickel was issued on June 26, 1883, the date on which production of the Shield nickel was finally stopped. The public responded by hoarding the "centless" nickels, egged on by reports that the Treasury Department intended to recall those nickels, and that they would become rare.
Production
After heavy mintages of the nickel in 1883 and 1884, production was much lower in 1885 and 1886. This was due to an economic downturnDepression of 1882–85
The Depression of 1882–85 or Recession of 1882–85 was a recession in the United States that lasted from March 1882 to May 1885, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. At 38 months in length this is the third-longest recession in the NBER's chronology of business cycles from 1854 to...
which lowered demand for the coins. The 1886 production was also depressed by the Treasury's decision to reissue large numbers of worn minor coins. It was not until September 1886 that the Mint resumed full production of the coin. By 1887, however, the Mint was overwhelmed by orders, melting down large quantities of older copper-nickel coins to meet the demand. Despite these efforts, the Mint was forced to return many orders unfilled. Demand remained strong until 1894, when the Mint temporarily suspended production as it had accumulated a surplus during the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
.
The Coinage Act of 1890 retired a number of obsolete denominations, including the three-cent piece. Another Act of Congress, also enacted on September 26, 1890 required that coinage designs not be changed until they had been in use 25 years, unless Congress authorized the change. However, the second act indicated that nothing in the law was to prevent the redesign of the current five-cent piece and silver dollar
Morgan Dollar
The Morgan dollar was a United States dollar coin minted intermittently from 1878 to 1921. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since production of the previous design, the Seated Liberty dollar, ceased due to the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act, an act which also ended the free coining...
"as soon as practicable after the passage of this act". In 1896, pattern nickels were struck for the first time since 1885, when experimental, holed coins had been tested. The 1896 pieces, which featured a simple shield with arrows crossed behind it, were struck in response to a resolution of the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
asking the Secretary of the Treasury to report to it on the advantages and disadvantages of using various alloys in coinage. Pattern nickels would not be struck again until 1909.
The turn of the century saw unprecedented demand for nickels, due to a booming economy and the use of nickels in coin-operated machines. In 1900, Mint Director George E. Roberts called on Congress to grant the Mint a larger appropriation to purchase base metals, allowing for greater production of nickels and cents. The same year, the design was modified slightly, lengthening some of the leaves on the reverse. This change occurred with the introduction of a new hub, from which coining dies were made. Demand for the coins remained heavy; in March 1911, Mehl's Numismatic Monthly reported that the Mint was working twenty-four hours a day to produce cents and nickels, and even so was failing to satisfy demand.
Mint directors, in their annual reports, had long called for the authority to strike cents and nickels at branch mints, which was forbidden by Congress. On April 24, 1906, this restriction was removed, although the first base metal coins, cents in both cases, were not struck at San Francisco
San Francisco Mint
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...
until 1908 and Denver
Denver Mint
The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Mint bear a D mint mark...
until 1911. In 1912, nickels were coined for the first time at each of the two branch mints. The 1912-S (for San Francisco) nickel was not struck until Christmas Eve, and was only struck for four business days. A 1912-S nickel, one of the first forty coined, was used by former San Francisco Mayor James D. Phelan
James D. Phelan
James Duval Phelan was an American politician, civic leader and banker.-Early years:Phelan was born in San Francisco, the son of an Irish immigrant who became wealthy during the California Gold Rush as a trader, merchant and banker. He graduated from St...
to pay the first fare on the city's first streetcar on December 28, 1912. Excluding the 1913 nickel, the 1912-S, with only 238,000 struck, is by far the rarest in the series.
Replacement
In 1909, consideration was given to the replacement of the Liberty Head nickel by a new design. In an attempt to modernize the coinage, the cent and the gold pieces had been redesigned. Prominent artists from outside the Mint had been contracted to provide the designs of the new coins, much to Barber's disgruntlement. Mint Director Frank A. LeachFrank A. Leach
Frank Aleamon Leach was a United States newspaperman who was Director of the United States Mint from 1907 to 1909.-Biography:...
was an admirer of Barber's work, and had him prepare designs to be struck as patterns. Barber, at Leach's request, prepared a design showing Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's head, and newspapers reported that new coins might be issued by the end of 1909. In July 1909, however, Leach resigned, putting an end to the matter for the time being.
On May 4, 1911, Eames MacVeagh, son of Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh
Franklin MacVeagh
Franklin MacVeagh was an American banker and Treasury Secretary.Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Yale University in 1858, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1864. He worked as a wholesale grocer and lawyer...
wrote to his father:
A little matter that seems to have been overlooked by all of you is the opportunity to beautify the design of the nickel or five cent piece during your administration, and it seems to me that it would be a permanent souvenir of a most attractive sort. As possibly you are aware, it is the only coin the design of which you can change during your administration, as I believe there is a law to the effect that the designs must not be changed oftener than every twenty-five years. I should think also it might be the coin of which the greatest numbers are in circulation.
Soon afterwards, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Abram Andrew
Abram Andrew
Abram Piatt Andrew Jr. was a United States Representative from Massachusetts.-Biography:Born in La Porte, Indiana, he attended the public schools and the Lawrenceville School...
announced that the Mint would be soliciting new designs. Well-known sculptor James Earle Fraser approached Treasury officials, who were impressed by his proposals. Mint Director Roberts initially asked Fraser for a design featuring a bust of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, which he produced, mainly to please Roberts, but Fraser also developed a design featuring a Native American on the obverse, with an American bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
on the reverse. This design was given preliminary approval by MacVeagh on January 13, 1912, and would come to be known as the Buffalo nickel. In late June, Fraser completed the model of the final design. The specifications of the new nickel were provided to the Hobbs Manufacturing Company, a maker of vending machines, which, following a meeting with Fraser in early November, opined that the new coins would likely jam its machines. At the company's request, Fraser prepared a revised version, but Secretary MacVeagh rejected it on the grounds that the changes compromised the design, which he greatly admired.
On December 13, 1912, Roberts warned the Mint staff to take no action in preparation for the 1913 five-cent coinage until the new designs were ready. He ended production of the Liberty Head nickel at the Philadelphia Mint
Philadelphia Mint
The Philadelphia Mint was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national mint a main priority after the ratification of the Constitution of...
the same day. A minor change was made to the Buffalo design in an attempt to satisfy the Hobbs Company, which promptly provided a lengthy list of changes it wanted made to the coin. On February 15, 1913, with less than three weeks until he would have to leave office on the advent of the Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
administration, McVeagh wrote to Roberts, noting that no other vending or slot machine maker had complained about the new design. The Secretary concluded that everything possible had been done to satisfy the Hobbs Company, and ordered the new nickel put into production.
1913
The first information that a 1913 Liberty head nickel might have been struck came in December 1919, when coin dealer Samuel W. Brown placed advertisements in numismatic publications, offering to buy any such nickels. In August 1920, Brown displayed one such coin at the annual American Numismatic AssociationAmerican Numismatic Association
The American Numismatic Association was founded in 1891 by Dr. George F. Heath in Chicago, Illinois. The ANA was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics along educational, historical and scientific lines, as well as enhance interest in the hobby.The ANA national headquarters and museum is...
(ANA) convention. Brown related that a master die had been prepared for the 1913 Liberty head nickels, and a few pieces had been run off to test the die. As it turned out, Brown possessed five coins, which he eventually sold. After spending fifteen years in the hands of the eccentric Col. E.H.R. Green
Edward Howland Robinson Green
Edward Howland Robinson "Ned" Green , also known as Colonel Green, was an American businessman, the only son of the notorious miser Hetty Green . He was also noted for his stamp and coin collections.-Biography:Edward Green was the first of two children of Hetty and Edward Henry Green...
, the famous Fort Worth, Texas, area collector, the coins were finally dispersed in 1943. Since then, the coins have had several owners each. Today, two are on public display—at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington and the ANA's Money Museum in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, while three are owned privately. The most recent sale of a 1913 Liberty Head nickel was in January 2010, when one sold for $3,737,500 in an auction.
It is uncertain how the 1913 nickels came to be made. The Mint's records show no production of 1913 Liberty head nickels, and none were authorized to be made. Dies were prepared in advance and sent to California for a 1913-S Liberty Head nickel coinage, but upon Roberts's instruction to stop coinage, they were ordered returned to Philadelphia. They were received by December 23, and were almost certainly destroyed routinely by early January. Brown had been an employee at the Philadelphia Mint (although this was not known until 1963) and many theories focus suspicion on him.
Mintage figures
| Year | Mint mark | Mintage |
|---|---|---|
| 1883 without 'CENTS' | 5,479,519 | |
| 1883 with 'CENTS' | 16,032,983 | |
| 1884 | 11,273,942 | |
| 1885 | 1,476,490 | |
| 1886 | 3,330,290 | |
| 1887 | 15,263,652 | |
| 1888 | 10,720,483 | |
| 1889 | 15,881,361 | |
| 1890 | 16,259,272 | |
| 1891 | 16,834,350 | |
| 1892 | 11,699,642 | |
| 1893 | 13,370,195 | |
| 1894 | 5,413,132 | |
| 1895 | 9,979,884 | |
| 1896 | 8,842,920 | |
| 1897 | 20,428,735 | |
| 1898 | 12,532,087 | |
| 1899 | 26,029,031 | |
| 1900 | 27,255,995 | |
| 1901 | 26,480,213 | |
| 1902 | 31,489,579 | |
| 1903 | 28,006,725 | |
| 1904 | 21,404,984 | |
| 1905 | 29,827,276 | |
| 1906 | 38,613,725 | |
| 1907 | 39,214,800 | |
| 1908 | 22,686,177 | |
| 1909 | 11,590,526 | |
| 1910 | 30,169,353 | |
| 1911 | 39,559,372 | |
| 1912 | 26,236,714 | |
| 1912 | D | 8,474,000 |
| 1912 | S | 238,000 |
| 1913 | 5 known |