The Nickel
Beginning in 1866, a 5 cent coin of non-precious metal came into being. The Shield Nickel, as it is called, carried on the 5 cent denomination without the cost of silver. In 1883 the Liberty Head or "V" nickel began, followed by the extremely popular Buffalo Nickel of the early 20th century, and then by the long-running and current presidential Nickel.. the Jefferson Nickel. Here is a list and picture of each design:
Articles on the Nickel
Shield Nickel (1866 - 1883)
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Around the same time that the Shield Nickel started being minted, the Half dime (worth the same as a nickel) was in its 4th style of a coin. The Half Dime was retired in 1873. The Shield Nickel was first struck in 1866 and changed to the Liberty Head in 1883. The Mint's chief engraver, James Longacre, had begun preparing designs in 1865. After rejecting pieces showing deceased presidents George Washington (Washington Nickel) and Abraham Lincoln, Treasury secretary Hugh McCulloch decided on a design similar to Longacre's two-cent piece with a shield on the obverse.
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Liberty Head ( "V" ) (1883 - 1913)
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With production of nickels lagging in the late 1870's, and with minimal strikings of the copper-nickel 3 cent piece, wharton sought to increase the use of nickel at the mint. Mint engraver Charles Barber produced uniform designs for the coin. Philadelphia's Mint Superintendent Archibald Loudon Snowden required that the new coin depict the head of Liberty with the legend "LIBERTY" and the date, with the nickel's reverse to have a wreath of wheat, cotton, and corn around a Roman numeral V for 5. The nickel will retain it's weight of 5 grams, but the diameter would be increased to 22 millimeters (.87 in).
Fun Fact: The Liberty Nickel was counterfeited to look like a $5 gold coin because the coin lacked the words "cents" and had just a huge V for "5". They were soon nicknamed "Racketeer Nickels. |
Buffalo Nickel (1913 - 1938)
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The Buffalo Nickel is made up of 75% copper and 25% Nickel. The Buffalo Nickel has three different mint marks. The D for Denver, the S for San Francisco, and no mark for Philadelphia. The sculptor of the Nickel was James Earle Fraser. 5 denominations of US coins received makeovers between 1907 and 1909. In 1911, Taft administration officials decided to replace the Liberty Head design for the Nickel.
Note that the Hobo Nickel was not a real coin. The Hobo Nickel is a sculptural art form involving the creative modification of small-denomination coins, essentially resulting in miniature bas reliefs. The US Nickel coin was favored because of its size, thickness and relative softness. The term Hobo Nickel is generic, as carvings have been made from many different denominations. |
Jefferson Nickel (1938 - Present)
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The Jefferson Nickel has been the 5 cent coin since 1938, when it replaced the Buffalo Nickel. From 1938 until 2004, the copper-nickel coin's obverse featured a profile depiction of founding father and third president Thomas Jefferson by artist Felix Schlag. Since 2006 Jefferson's portrayal, newly designed by Jamie Franki, faces forward. The coins reverse is still the Schlag original, although in 2004 and 2005 the piece bore commemorative designs.
Fun Fact: Jefferson Nickels from 1942 - 1945 was struck in 50% silver! The mint mark "P" and "D" were moved on top of the building and were larger. |
We have Nickels on Surplus!
1 Random Shield Nickel in G to VG condition
$39.99
$29.99
1 Random Shield Nickel in Good to Very Good condition. Dates random ranging from 1866 - 1883.
3 Random Liberty Head Nickel in G to VG condition
$19.99
$11.99
3 Random Liberty Head Nickels in Good to Very Good condition. Dates random ranging from 1883 - 1913.
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