The V-nickel
Hello! Today my blog post is going to be about the liberty nickel. The liberty nickel AKA the V-nickel first came out in 1883, it had a large V on the reverse for 5 cents. But they didn't think of adding cents, leading to many people being tricked out of their money by con men who deceitfully gold plated the new coins and passed them off as $5 gold pieces. They would purchase things with them that cost 5 cents, and sometimes they would get $4.95 in change, while other times (the ones they didn't want) they would not get any change and walk away with their purchase. Eventually the Mint heard about the mass amount of trickery because of the absence of the word cents and they decided to add it to the reverse of the coin which totally destroyed the fraud. Today the coins are highly collectible and are know as racketeer nickels. Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope you enjoyed it even though it ended up being mainly about racketeer nickels, which a lot of you probably already know about, nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed my version of the story and have a great day!
Comments
Kurisu
Level 4
Fun topic! I had an old worn racketeer nickel in my original childhood collection, I don't remember who gave it to me...probably wasn't from a racketeer though lol!
CoinsInHK
Level 3
Bit late on this but just wanted to say thanks for a great blog! Heard about the gold-plated $5 trick a while back, I thought it was quite funny as I think I would realize that the 5-cent just happened to look like the 5-cent as well. Thanks for your interpretation of the story! Sincerely, CoinsInHK
Kepi
Level 6
Nice blog! Thanks for your research! ; )
CopperCollector
Level 4
Thanks nice blog. I own a V nickel in G4
Longstrider
Level 6
Great story. I also heard, maybe true, that one guy caught trying to pass off a nickel as a gold piece beat the wrap. His defense was he was blind and never said what denomination the coin was. Just quietly took his change and left. Brilliant! I hope it's true. Thanks.
It's Mokie
Level 6
I love the story of the cent-less V nickel, I always wonder if the gold plating scam was widespread or just an urban myth. I have never seen a cent-less V nickel sold as a gold plated con coin. Thanks for the interesting look at the V.
slybluenote
Level 5
Thanks for posting! I also have a couple of those V nickels. I've been considering putting them in slabs...one of these days. It's always interesting learning about new things!
Mike
Level 7
I have the set. I bought them early so there in good condition. I do not like many others the 1885. A very big key date. Look on ebay there a wreck some are smooth metal on the reverse and the ant hundreds for them. Many have details and can be used as slugs. But the prices are nuts. I'm will looking for one that is decent to fill that last whole. Thanks for.the blog. They are a great coin. With a great history.
Stumpy
Level 5
Enjoyed the blog. That series is awesome in my opinion. Later!
I. R. Bama
Level 5
Thanks for an interesting blog
Golfer
Level 5
That is a interesting piece of coinage history. The stories of coin shenanigans are always intriguing. I liked the story of the guy making nickels. The no cents nickel idea was quite the scam.
TheNumisMaster
Level 5
Good stuff! I laughed the first time I heard of the gold-plated trick. You can still find specimens with partial/complete gold plating. I have a no cents 1883. Not adding the cents to begin with makes NO CENTS hah!!! Please don't hate me (: Catch ya later!
CentSearcher
Level 5
A few months back I got an 1883 no Cents nickel. Great blog, stay safe!