Is the RED BOOK publication A Guide Book of SHIELD and LIBERTY HEAD NICKELS the most complete book on Liberty V Nickels? I can't find anything else. Liberty V nickels is most likely the next set I work on. I'm particularly interested in what areas on those coins indicate weak strikes.
Kanga, Like you, after the IHC series, I started the Liberty Nickel series. There is not much out there that I could find on the series, but I do know where most people look when they determine the quality of the strike. On the reverse, the corn cob on the left is the first spot. If you can see individual kernels of corn, its a pretty strong strike. I have found that most coins in this series do not exhibit the strong strike I look for. In almost a year of looking at MS65 examples, I have only found three coins for my set so far. This set is going to be tougher than the IHCs for sure.
I'm not surprised. I also looked at Nickel 3-Cent pieces and Shield Nickels and have gotten the same impression. Basically nickel was NOT a good coining metal for the US Mint.
The obverse stars, especially the first (lower) two on the left, also are prone to showing striking deficiencies. Look through a bunch of Heritage lots and you'll get a good feel for them. PCGS's online Photograde also happens to show some uncirculated ones with better strikes than others. http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/#/LibNic/Grades If you're going to get serious about this issue, then by all means start with the Red Book Guide you mention. I'd think it would have a good date-by-date analysis of strike, among other characteristics.
I say this book if you can find it as it's out of print and carries a hefty price tag. The complete guide to shield & Liberty head nickels. Gloria Peters & Cynthia Mohon I just purchased one a few months back..... they come both hard and soft copy .
Zoiks! $150 for a softcover on Abebooks. Fortunately, DLRC has put a lot of their books (or large parts of them) on their website. https://www.davidlawrence.com/books/the-complete-guide-to-shield-and-liberty-head-nickels/
