What do you all think of it? I think it was a very clever idea for bootleggers back in the 1800's to pass off some Liberty nickel off as gold.. But then once "Cents" were added to the back of the nickel, that prohibited it from being passed off as gold anymore. bnb
Actually, there has been much debate as to whether this actually occurred in the time frame of 1883 to 1912. This article discusses the issue. I suspect the vast majority of gold plated 1883 nickels were done after the 1950s myself. Jim http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v10n08a15.html
I don't know about the whole Josh Tatum deal - but one thing to consider is that since not very many people saw 5$ gold in everyday commerce, it's conceivable that they did try to pass off the no-cents version even after "cents" version was produced.
And 120 years later the trick still works, see all the gold plated coins and fantasies sold on the TV for absurd money. As far as I know there is little doubt that the gilding and passing of the coin occured. Even the link you posted agrees with that: "I was able to turn up a good many references to the gilding of nickels in sources from the 1880s, some quite interesting, and some naming specific "racketeers,"" What is in doubt and which that link covers is the doubtfulness of the specific Josh Tatum story. Josh Tatum did NOT exist. You are correct though that most of the plated 1883 no cent nickels most likely were created AFTER 1950.
I have always wondered if this story was true...it seems plausible but it also seems like one those tales that could easily be a fantasy. Either way it's a good story and a clever idea if true.
Josh Tatum allegedly made a lot of money using this scheme, gold plating No Cents nickels and buying 5 cent items, and getting $4.95 in change. After doing this thousands of times, he was finally caught. He escaped conviction, by using his clever defense, which was: "I never asked for change".
Except there is no evidence that Josh Tatum ever existed. No arrest record, no court date, no court records, no newspaper articles nothing. And from the thread posted earlier no non-contemporary reports of the story before 1965. It clearly appears to be made up out of whole cloth.
It never happened at least not in the way we think. It never happened at least not in the way we think. It's a good story though.
I love the story also,and when such a coin popped up locally, I bought it just to amuse myself and others. Coin collecting should have a whimsy side. Jim
You are correct about the dating of many of the "so called" rackateer nickels". Many were plated in the 50's and 60's and passed off as original. I have a couple of pieces that re original. The best way to tell is by the ware on the coin. Original pieces will show some gold removal. Many of the fake coins also had reeding applied. This too is a great indicator of originality. Jim S
