1883 NO CENTS Nickel-Outstanding Coin

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Collecting Nut, Apr 7, 2022.

  1. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    In 1883 the Shield Nickel was taken out of production and the Liberty Head or “V” Nickel was produced in its place. This nickel was designed by Charles E. Barber and weighed 5 grams, and they were minted in Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. It was 75% copper and 25% nickel.

    Early in 1883 and the first design of the Liberty Head Nickel had a Roman numeral “V” inside of a wreath on the reverse. Due to an individual named Josh Tatum, who was deaf and dumb, but smart enough, because of the design of the reverse he plated the nickels in gold. Being as he couldn’t talk and couldn’t hear, he passed them off as five dollar gold pieces as they looked very similar in design.

    Eventuality he was arrested but he served no jail time as he never made any claim that it was a five dollar gold piece. These have become known as the Racketeer Nickel. Shortly after this came to light, the Mint re-designed the reverse and added the word “CENTS” to the reverse just under the “V” and the wreath.

    We should also note that in 1920 at the ANA convention a former Mint employee showed an example of a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel. It soon became known that 5 specimens were in the hands of a Philadelphia coin dealer and in 1924 they were sold to another dealer and then they were sold to a colonel E.H.R. Green, the son of the famous Wall Street investor, Hetty Green.

    They are now in the hands of public and private collections. They are not considered a regular issue and were never placed in circulation. One of the 1913 coins was sold in a heritage auction in January 2014 at a price of $3,290,000. This piece is a PF-64.

    So here’s my 1883 NO CENTS Nickel graded by PCGS over 30 years ago. It was graded MS-62 but I believe it to be a MS-64 today. It has that old green label. Barely a mark on the coin except for the die cracks on both the obverse and reverse. Hopefully you can find them. Just enlarge the photos and they stand out.
    075A526D-0E6B-4D51-9FCE-3670BD0BBE22.jpeg A02A651D-7250-4A0F-AC46-3D080640C0DC.jpeg 70BF266D-A5E9-4FA3-9FDA-4D6DB5D13494.jpeg
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    @Collecting Nut This is reminding me of @Insider recent poll which I cannot answer to until tomorrow. (I can follow instructions, lol.)
     
  4. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    Give me a better lighter image of the date, and ill do the attribution;)

    Looks like an [ 19.4 ] the 1 is tripled punched S. Corrected N . 2nd 8 punched N. Corrected S. RPD
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2022
    Cheech9712 and Collecting Nut like this.
  5. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    Mine is also an MS62 but yours has more character with die cracks on both sides. I'd rather have yours.
     
    1stSgt22 and Collecting Nut like this.
  6. Dave Waterstraat

    Dave Waterstraat Well-Known Member

    Yeah, the mint struggled many years trying to produce nickels. If you like die cracks this is a nice area to collect.
    Nice example and write up! :)
     
  7. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    Both 1883 have some die cracks rim to bust bust point to or through date...I use the old text Shields and Liberty nickels by Mahon and Peters...out of print but still a good reference.
     
    Collecting Nut and tommyc03 like this.
  8. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    You rarely see or find 1883 Liberty nickels that grade over a 64/65 grade....I see some nice specimens but never in higher grades.
     
    tommyc03 likes this.
  9. eddiespin

    eddiespin Fast Eddie

    I think that deep cut under the chin is what may have held it down.
     
  10. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    Here's a couple I've had since childhood.
    IMG_0470.jpg IMG_0471.jpg IMG_0472.jpg IMG_0473.jpg
     
  11. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    This is the best I can do. Hope it helps.
    8A344A4D-8469-4005-A2AF-CF31BA40D1F4.jpeg
     
    Paddy54 likes this.
  12. chascat

    chascat Well-Known Member

    I concur with your comment...Mine is also a 62, but yours is much nicer...more like a 63 or 64 in my eye.
     
    Collecting Nut and tommyc03 like this.
  13. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    I was able to use the last images...the die cracks,ans date placement.
    Nice coin...and another coin that is very much under valued and appreciated.
     
    Collecting Nut and tommyc03 like this.
  14. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    Enjoyed the lesson thanks.
     
    Collecting Nut likes this.
  15. 1865King

    1865King Well-Known Member

    I don't think it would grade better than MS 63. There seems to be a lot of small chatter on the reverse and the obverse is ok but the strike is a little weak. Overall a nice example.
     
    Collecting Nut likes this.
  16. buckeye73

    buckeye73 Well-Known Member

    A little weak obverse strike or worn die/late die state… looking at the hair detail under the ‘L’ in LIBERTY?
     
    Cheech9712 likes this.
  17. 1865King

    1865King Well-Known Member

    My 1883 No Cents. MS 66 1883 Lib 5 Cent Obv (2).png 1883 Lib  5 Cent Rev (2).jpg
     
  18. Cheech9712

    Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

    Like the cracks. Love the hair. Good pictures I think
     
    Collecting Nut likes this.
  19. Cheech9712

    Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page