For the Nickelheads! - nickel pics
 

1883 No Cents MS65

The Liberty V nickel came out in 1883. The "no cents" version is another fiasco that didn't last a full year. The first version was gold plated by cheaters and passed off as a 5-dollar gold piece. The mint quickly added "cents" to the back side.

Re: For the Nickelheads! - nickel pics
 

1903 V nickel MS65

Re: For the Nickelheads! - nickel pics
 

1913S Type 1 MS65. The Buffalo came out in 1913. The first coins looked horrible. This is one of the best looking 1913-S there was. They changed the design to make it easier to strike later in the year.

Re: For the Nickelheads! - nickel pics
 

1938D MS66. 1938 was a good year for Buffalo nickels.

Re: For the Nickelheads! - nickel pics
 

1938D over S MS66. Check out the mint mark overstrike where the D was punched over the S. Compare to the D on the previous scan.

Re: For the Nickelheads! - nickel pics
 

More of those great (not so) old American coins. I sure wish the Buffalo nickel was still around. You could still find a lot of them in change in the '50's and early '60's.

Re: For the Nickelheads! - nickel pics
 

Here is a story about the "Racketeer Nickel" that has never been authenticated, but a good story none the less from rare coin.

Quote:

The "Racketeer Nickel" became infamous in 1883 due to Josh Tatum of Boston. The U.S. had just issued a new nickel sans the word cents but did carry the Roman numeral V on the reverse while the front depicted the Liberty head motif similar to the $5.00 gold piece of the time. Tatum took 1,000 of the nickels to a pawn broker for gold plating which he brought to stores. He would point out a 5 cent cigar and place the gold plated nickel on the counter. Store workers usually looked at the coin while the well dressed Tatum waited and they gave him $4.95 in change assuming they received a new gold coin. Within a short time he managed to spend the 1,000 nickels; altered an additional few thousand pieces with plans to continue his ruse on the way down to N.Y. Treasury agents finally apprehended Tatum who was arrested while still in possession of hundreds of the nickels. When the case was brought to trial many of those who felt cheated by Tatum were asked one question by the defense, "Did Josh Tatum ever ask for change?". The answer was no as Josh Tatum was a deaf mute and the case was dismissed. After the trial the U.S. mint altered the reverse of the coin to include the word - cents. If you were being offered one of the original gold plated coins which would likely be in choice condition it is not a bad deal at $25 however if the coin is a low grade example gold plated much later as a novelty piece then it would be out of line to pay that much.

Who says coins are boring?

Thanks, RossL for the pics. You have an amazing collection.

I don't have too many nickels, other than current years. If I can, I will post a pic of my 3 cent nickel.

The Great Ag