The Eliasberg specimen

The 1913 Liberty Head V nickel is a bit of a numismatic mystery.  No one knows exactly where it came from, who minted it, or why it was minted in the first place. But at least five of them were unofficially struck with the date 1913. 

Where did they come from? While we unfortunately can’t answer that question, we can look at the events surrounding them, and ponder what exactly may have happened to create such a rarity.

Replacing the Shield Nickel

Early on in the 1880s, the copper-nickel composite Shield Nickel was the current coin.  It had some pretty major production issues over the years, such as being difficult to strike due to its complex design. It was decided that the coin must be replaced, and the US Mint started preparations to replace the Shield Nickel.

The Mint Superintendent Archibald Loudon Snowden ordered then Chief Engraver of the Mint Charles Barber, to produce three different coin denominations--one-cent, three-cent nickel, and the five-cent piece--all with one uniform design.

Barber was informed by Snowden of the designs the coins must have

The obverse was to have a classic head of Liberty, with the legend “Liberty” and the date on it.

The reverse needed to portray a wreath made of cotton, corn, and wheat, which would surround a Roman numeral representing the denomination of the coin.  The one-cent with a “I”, the three-cent with “III”, and the five-cent with a “V”.

Barber produced the required designs, but Snowden determined that the one-cent, and three-cent pieces were just too small for use.  After some minor fixes with the design and finalization's, the design for the five-cent piece was approved.

Striking of the new coins began January 30, 1883, and they first started entering circulation by February 1! The coins were minted every year until 1912, nearly 30 years! Large amounts were minted each year as well, meaning this was quite the popular coin.

The Mysterious 1913 Liberty Head V Nickel Surfaces

Fast forward a number of years after production of the Liberty Nickel ceased, to December of 1919.  A coin dealer named Samuel W. Brown began placing advertisements in various numismatic publications. Stating that he was looking for 1913 Liberty nickels to buy. (Remember, no 1913 Liberty Head Nickels had ever been officially produced)

It seems either his advertisements were successful, or he may have posted to increase hype about the coin, and actually already had one in his possession. We’re not sure which, but either way in August of 1920 he displayed one at the annual ANA convention (American Numismatics Association).

He stated that a master-die had actually been prepared for the 1913 Liberty Head nickels, and they tested it by running a few pieces through.

As it turns out, Samuel W. Brown had five of these coins in his possession!

Around 1928, he sold all five of them to famous Fort Worth, TX collector Col. E.H.R. Green.  Green had them for about 15 years, when he finally sold them off in 1943, and the coins were all dispersed to separate collections and have had several owners over the years since.

Today three are owned privately, and two are actually on public display if you’re interested in taking a peek at them! One is in the Smithsonian, and one is in the ANA’s Money Museum in Colorado Springs, CO.

The Eliasberg Liberty Head V Nickel

One of those several owners we mentioned previously, was none other than Louis E. Eliasberg! The famous coin collector who assembled a collection of every U.S. coin minted!  The coin that Eliasberg owned is hands down the finest specimen of the five Liberty Head nickels.  Graded a PR66 by PCGS, it has fetched some pretty high prices over the years. In 2018, it sold at the August ANA U.S. Coins Auction in Philadelphia for an absolutely astounding $4,560,000.00! 

Later on after Brown brought the coins to light, it was discovered that dies were indeed prepared in advance, but were sent to California for the 1913-S Liberty Head nickel.  However, Mint Director George E. Roberts, had sent orders to stop the coinage, and the dies were ordered to be returned to Philadelphia. The dies were received back in Philadelphia by December 23 (of 1912) and it’s very likely they were destroyed by early January of 1913.

In 1963, 43 years after the 1913 Liberty Head nickel made its first appearance it was discovered that Samuel W. Brown had been an employee at the Philadelphia Mint, which has caused many suspicious theories to revolve around him.

There are no Mint records showing production of a 1913 Liberty Head V nickel, nor were any ever authorized, and no additional coins have ever surfaced. It seems they may always remain a numismatic mystery.

Coin Counterfeiters Exploit the System

Adding to the rich history behind the Liberty Head nickel, it seems that when the coins were initially released in 1883 they did not have the word “cents” because it had not been thought necessary to distinguish.

Fraudsters soon realized that the nickel was very close in size to the five-dollar gold piece!  They discovered that if the new five-cent piece was gold-plated it might be passed for five dollars.

This was soon done, and many people found success with it. One of the tales about this scheme was that one of the biggest perpetrators of this coin fraud was Josh Tatum.  He would go into a store and pick out an item that cost only five cents or less, and when it came time to pay he would use the gold-plated five-cent piece as payment. 

Many clerks ended up giving him 4.95 in change, and as far as the tale goes (though we’re not sure the truth of any of this) the law was unable to charge him with anything at the time, because he had only bought what the coin was actually worth, and just accepted the change as a “gift”. 

Now this could just be a tall tale, and likely some factors are fabricated even if it is true.  But it’s still a neat little piece of history that goes along with the Liberty Head Nickel