Liberty “V” Nickels
By Dean Cugliotta
The Liberty Head nickel, sometimes referred to as the “V” nickel because of its reverse (or tails) design, is an American five-cent piece. It was struck for circulation from 1883 to 1912. At least five pieces were struck off the record bearing the date These five scarce coins sell for millions of dollars when available.
Chief engraver Charles Barber was tasked with designing the
countries second five cent nickel coin. This would follow the
shield nickel done by James B. Longacre.
This is the coin that I enjoy collecting most. I have written in past newsletters about my love for the coin. In many collections, the goal is to purchase the finest condition one can afford. With “V” nickels and my desire to collect them, I buy with a different goal. The most worn examples are what I enjoy the most. “V” nickels were coined, “workhorse of our nations coinage,” by Coins Magazine. The nickel was heavily used in daily commerce. One example was when the circus came to down. These coins ended up on train cars in buckets, going from town to town and state to state. How cool!
A dear friend of mine, and KNC Life Member, (name withheld) declares the “V” nickel is the ugliest coin ever minted. I just smile and say “I love ugly coins.”
Something unique about “V” nickels is they were all minted at the Philadelphia Mint except the final year in 1912. From 1883 to 1911, the coins did not have a mint mark. In 1912, examples were struck in all three mints: Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.
Something that may be of interest to those collecting key dates, is the low mintage of the 1912-S Liberty “V” Nickel. Mint records indicate that only 238,000 were made. Even more interesting, this is roughly half the mintage of the 1909-S V.D.B. penny, which is so highly collected and coveted among collectors.
The very same “S” mint mark design was used on
both coins. If you happen to own these two rare
coins, place them side by side. It’s very neat.
Coins have been counterfeited since the early days
of minting. It is important to really inspect a 1912-S
nickel before purchasing it. A good jeweler or
counterfeiter, could place an “S” right over the “D”
and fool an uniformed collector.
On my last visit to Scott’s Coin and Card Shop in Portage, this question came up: “If you could go back in time and hoard/collect any coin what would it be?” Without any hesitation I declared, “rolls of 1912-S “V” nickels.” I got a laugh from the group, which I expected.
a. Lower mintage than the 1909-S V.D.B.penny
b. Only coin in a series bearing the “S” mint mark
c. Work horse of our nation’s coins
100% I love “V” nickels. Happy collecting friends!