Just so you know, those aren't gold $5 coins. They are 1883 Liberty Head Nickels that have been plated with gold. For this reason, in mid-1883 the mint added the word "cents" to the bottom of the reverse side.
just wanted to see if i could trick anyone! They are the good ol racketeer nickels! plated gold during the period to try and pass it off as a gold coin, very seldom have i seen others, the one was not a button but the metal was purposly put over the roman numeral 5 (v) as another trick to pass it off as a 5dollar instead of a 5cent
I would like to pick up a plated one just for the fun of having one in the collection. I'd imagine one plated during the 1880s would be really hard to find as I don't believe plating was that widespread...even a modern plated one would be fun to have.
Just last week a guy in my coin club had asked me if I had ever seen one and i said no. He said that he had purchased a really nice gold plated one years ago and if he remembers, he will bring it in at the next club meeeting.
The coin on the left appears to have been heavily circulated before it was plated. For that reason I would say it is not a contemporary piece and rather a more modern reproduction of a Racketeer Nickel. I can't see the other nickel well enough to say either way whether it is a contemporary Racketeer Nickel (but I suspect it is not).
