Liberty Head "V" Nickel Values & Mintages
Charles Barber's Liberty Head nickel shows a large Roman numeral V on the reverse. The first 1883 issue omitted the word CENTS and swindlers gold-plated them to pass as five-dollar gold pieces, so CENTS was added later that year.
- Years
- 1883–1913
- Issues listed
- 34
- Lowest mintage
- 5
- Diameter
- 21.2 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip.
The series ended in 1912, but five 1913 Liberty nickels were struck clandestinely and every one of them is a significant rarity, among the most famous coins in the world.
Designer: Charles E. Barber.
Key dates: lowest mintages
See all 34 →Every Liberty Head "V" Nickel by year and mint
My collection →0 of 34 ticked. Tick the coins you own; your list stays in this browser.
| Owned✓ | Coin | Year | Mint | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1883 | None | 5,479,519 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1883 Liberty Head "V" Nickel (With "CENTS" on reverse) | 1883 | None | 16,032,983 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1884 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1884 | None | 11,273,942 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1885 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1885 | None | 1,476,490 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1886 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1886 | None | 3,330,290 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1887 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1887 | None | 15,263,652 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1888 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1888 | None | 10,720,483 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1889 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1889 | None | 15,881,361 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1890 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1890 | None | 16,259,272 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1891 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1891 | None | 16,834,350 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1892 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1892 | None | 11,699,642 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1893 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1893 | None | 13,370,195 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1894 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1894 | None | 5,413,132 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1895 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1895 | None | 9,979,884 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1896 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1896 | None | 8,842,920 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1897 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1897 | None | 20,428,735 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1898 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1898 | None | 12,532,087 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1899 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1899 | None | 26,029,031 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1900 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1900 | None | 27,255,995 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1901 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1901 | None | 26,480,213 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1902 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1902 | None | 31,480,579 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1903 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1903 | None | 28,006,725 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1904 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1904 | None | 21,404,984 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1905 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1905 | None | 29,827,276 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1906 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1906 | None | 38,613,725 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1907 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1907 | None | 39,214,800 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1908 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1908 | None | 22,686,177 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1909 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1909 | None | 11,590,526 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1910 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1910 | None | 30,169,353 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1911 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1911 | None | 39,559,372 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1912 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1912 | None | 26,236,714 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1912-D Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1912 | D | 8,474,000 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1912-S Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1912 | S | 238,000 | Circulation strike | – | |
| 1913 Liberty Head "V" Nickel | 1913 | None | 5 | Circulation strike | – |
Composition by year
| Years | Metal | Weight | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1883–1913 | 75% copper, 25% nickel | 5 g | – |
Mint mark location
1883–1911: No mint mark. Philadelphia only.
1912–1913: On the reverse, to the left of CENTS. Only 1912-D and 1912-S have mint marks.
Grading tips
Look at LIBERTY on the coronet, the hair curls and the corn ears in the wreath. Full LIBERTY is a key threshold for Fine and better.
How the five 1913 nickels came to light
The Mint has no record of striking Liberty Head nickels in 1913. In 1919 and 1920 a former Mint employee, Samuel W. Brown, placed advertisements offering to buy 1913 Liberty nickels. Soon afterward he showed five of them at the American Numismatic Association convention of 1920. Most researchers believe Brown made or obtained them at the Mint before the Buffalo nickel dies were ready.
All five later belonged together to the collector Colonel E. H. R. Green before being split up. One, the Walton specimen, was thought lost for decades after its owner's death in 1962 and was confirmed as genuine in 2003.
Racketeer nickels
The gold-plated No CENTS nickels of 1883 are called racketeer nickels. A popular tale credits a man named Josh Tatum with passing them as five-dollar gold pieces, but the story is almost certainly folklore.
Because the public saved the No CENTS nickels as curiosities once the change was announced, they are common in uncirculated grades. The With CENTS coins of 1883 were spent and are harder to find in the same condition.
Frequently asked questions
What is the rarest Liberty Head "V" Nickel?
By mintage, the scarcest regular circulation issue is the 1913 Liberty Head "V" Nickel with 5 struck, followed by the 1912-S Liberty Head "V" Nickel (238,000). Survival rates and condition also matter: some higher-mintage dates are scarce in top grades.
Are Liberty Head "V" Nickels silver?
1883–1913: 75% copper, 25% nickel.
Where is the mint mark on a Liberty Head "V" Nickel?
1883–1911: No mint mark. Philadelphia only.
1912–1913: On the reverse, to the left of CENTS. Only 1912-D and 1912-S have mint marks.
How many Liberty Head "V" Nickels were made?
About 602,086,412 for circulation across 34 date and mint combinations, from 39,559,372 for the 1911 Liberty Head "V" Nickel down to 5 for the 1913 Liberty Head "V" Nickel.
Who designed the Liberty Head "V" Nickel?
Charles E. Barber.
What is a racketeer nickel?
It is a gold-plated 1883 No CENTS Liberty nickel, made to pass as a five-dollar gold piece.
Other nickels
Mintages from Wikipedia's US Mint-sourced tables (CC BY-SA 4.0). Specifications from US Mint records. All sources.