Liberty Head Nickel

The Liberty Head Nickel – this coin also earned the name V Nickel and it’s not really surprising why. This nickel which was designed by Charles E. Barber was an American nickel five-cent piece. Although it was officially minted from 1883 to 1912, there are a couple of patterns that were struck back in 1881 to 1882. Along with that, there are 5 pieces that were secretly created in 1913 – these 5 pieces are among America’s most fabled numismatic rarities.

Just like any five-cent nickel, the Liberty Head Nickel or V Nickel had the same composition – it has 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel.

It was early 1883 when the Liberty Head Nickel came to life for circulation. The first 5 million or so pieces of Liberty head Nickels had the Roman Numeral V on the reverse…however, it did not contain the word CENTS. This was immediately noticed by con artists. Not to mention it had about the same size of a 5 dollar gold coin.

With that in mind, many con artists started gold plating these Liberty Head Nickels in an attempt to pass them as gold pieces.

There were no changes in the design of the Liberty Head Nickel…even after 1883. These V Nickels were struck every single year from 1883 all the way to 1912. While many of them were produced at the main US Mint located at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mints also produced the coins…especially during 1912. One can easily distinguish those Liberty Head Nickels that are produced in Denver and San Francisco Mints with a small D or S mint mark located on the reverse…below the lower left dot.

Serving as the five-cent nickel from 1883 to 1912, the Liberty Head Nickel definitely enjoyed years of success. However, just like its ancestors, it was replaced in 1913 when James Earle Fraser came up with the new design – and this came to be known as the Indian Head Buffalo Nickel.