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The Shield Nickel (the first nickel five-cent piece minted in the United States) was designed by James B. Longacre in accordance with the Act of 16th of May, 1866. These Shield Nickels were minted only in 1866 and 1867. The metallurgical difficulties were the source of many minting errors in the Shield Nickel coin. It is unusual to find a piece that does not have die cracks, and such examples […]
The Liberty Head nickel (5-cent piece) or also known as the V nickel due to its reverse design, was officially minted from 1883 to 1912. A few patterns were struck in 1881 and 1882, and five pieces were surreptitiously struck in 1913, which today number among America’s most fabled numismatic rarities. The composition of Liberty Head nickel or V nickel is 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel (the same […]
The Jefferson nickel coin was designed by Felix Schlagand and was minted in 1938. The obverse features a profile of Thomas Jefferson, while the reverse features his Virginian estate, Monticello. The steps on the building were slightly modified during 1939, but otherwise the design did not change until 2003. All three mints turned out vast quantities of Jefferson nickels until 1954, when San Francisco halted production for 14 years, resuming […]
The Indian Head nickel or also known as the Buffalo nickel, was designed by James Earle Fraser and was minted from 1913 to 1938. There was a change made on the reverse design when Indian Head nickels were in the circulation. The “FIVE CENTS” inscription which originally rested on a raised mound at the bottom of reverse was easily worn out due to the fact that it was one of […]
Nickels have a long history which makes it a very collectible piece of currency. Originally rendered in silver, the change to nickel-alloy combination today was a result of a silver shortage during the American-Civil War. There have been many memorable nickel designs, the first being the Shield nickel minted from 1866 to 1883. The Liberty Head nickels were minted from 1883 to 1912. The Buffalo nickels were issued from 1913 […]