1883–1912 Liberty Nickel 5-pc Set G–VG

These Coins Sent The “Racketeer Nickel” Packing!

There are some people who remember the Buffalo Nickel that circulated prior to the Jefferson Nickel’s debut in 1938, but most people don’t know what came before it. Yet from 1883 to 1912, the iconic Liberty Head Nickel designed by Charles E. Barber, the sixth chief engraver of the United States Mint, was the coin that circulated across the nation paying for goods and services purchased by hard-working Americans on a daily basis.

But that’s only part of the story, because when it was first issued the Liberty Head Nickel caused a scandal that cheated unsuspecting merchants out of nearly five bucks whenever the new nickels were put in play, resulting in a one-year-only variety that was nicknamed the “racketeer nickel.”

Birth Of A Short-Lived Coin Oddity

The short-lived racketeer nickel was developed soon after the U.S. Mint issued the Liberty Nickel in 1883. While Barber’s familiar design of Lady Liberty was featured on one side of the coin, the reverse displayed a large “V,” the Roman numeral for the number 5—and nowhere did it spell out its value as 5 cents. Since the nickel was almost identical in size to the $5 gold piece—21.6 mm to 21.2 mm—quick-thinking crooks began gold-plating the nickels and passing them off as $5 gold coins. The most famous case involved a man named Josh Tatum, who passed off the gold-plated nickels for $5 while buying 5-cent cigars. He simply placed the doctored coin on the counter and received $4.95 in change. Tatum was exonerated for his crimes after his capture because as a mute he was unable to speak, and thus never technically misrepresented the currency!

Correcting An Embarrassing Situation

Once Mint officials caught wind of this embarrassing aberration, they made a quick redesign to add the word “CENTS” to the bottom of the design. The five-piece Liberty Nickel set here consists of updated coins that include the all-important “cents” below the “V.” Minted from 1883 to 1913, each coin is more than 110 years old and comes in Good to Very Good (G–VG) condition. These were the coins that witnessed the last day of the Wild West, the Turn of the Century, and the sinking of the Titanic. Dates and mint marks will vary. Hurry!