Hi folks, I bought a roll of Barber Liberty Head nickels awhile back and today I decided to take a closer look at them before I sell them off. They're well worn... all in either G or VG and dated between 1895 and 1912. Now here's the thing... one of the 1905's looks completely out of place. It appears to be made of a different type of metal then all the others. The thickness of most of the nickels averages around 1.6 mm, but this one is a fatty at 2.3 mm. Weight-wise, most of the nickels average around 4.7 grams while this one is a heafty 6.63 grams. Is it a fake? A variant? Can anyone offer some insight? I'd post a pic, but it's really not worth it... all the nickels are worn so much, any real detail is a thing of the past.
A pic would still be nice (a comparison pic) but aside from that, all I have to say is that its not called a Barber Nickel, its typically referred to as a Liberty Nickel, or a V Nickel
Oops, my bad... I'm a Canadian and not long into collecting... I'll get the hang of it eventually. I'll take a pic for comparison give me 5... lol
ah the old "Im Canadian" excuse... lol but yeah, you'd be surprised what people can tell from a picture!
Here we go: http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/donna.penney/coins/VNickelA.jpg http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/donna.penney/coins/VNickelB.jpg Like I said... well worn. Questionable coin is on the right!
Just discovered something else about the coin... According to what I've read, V nickels all had a plain edge. Well, this coin appears to have traces of a reeded edge although now it is quite smooth.
Here's the best I could do. It's easier to see it in person, but I think you can see it clearly on the right side of the image. At first glance I thought it was writing. http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/donna.penney/coins/Reeding.jpg
It looks like a contemporary counterfeit. Now, that is the good news. Original fakes are worth more than low grade V-nickels, to a collector. Nice find, and good eye.
Agred it is a contemporary counterfeit probably made of a lead alloy. (A lead coin of the same size as the V nickel would weigh 6.4 grams. Since yours is a little thicker that would account fro the extra .2 grams.) And it is worth more than the genuine coin, to a collector of counterfeits.
pretty neat you got a counterfiet v nickel. 5 cents was alot of money back in 1905, you have to remember.
The reeded edge still confuses me though... would they sometimes make counterfiets from other coins? It's hard to imagine it being worth the trouble to turn one coin into a nickel. Yes, it was a very cool find and really easy to pick out when you have 39 REAL liberty nickels around it! Too bad it's not in better shape though...
Everybody says that. But think about it, they are, or rather were, making these fakes to spend them. And they could make one for 1 or 2 cents. That means for every fake they had a 300% - 400% profit. If you could make something and sell it for 400% profit what would you do ?
"If you could make something and sell it for 400% profit what would you do ?" Well, I would send production to a developing nation where labor costs are lower, negotiate better shipping terms, and buy off a few politicians and have the practice legalized under free trade statutes. Try to get that margin up to 6-700% or so...
