Everyone has heard the hoopla over the 1913 Liberty Nickels. And most
everyone knows that, in 1883, many unscrupulous individuals gold plated No
Cents Liberty Nickels and passed them off as $5 gold pieces. But, few
collectors know about the history of the Liberty Nickel. In 1881, the Mint was
considering standardization of the design of one- three- and five-cent nickel
(75% nickel and 25% copper) pieces. Charles Barber designed examples of
each, though the experiment with the one- and three-cent pieces went no
further. More five-cent patterns were struck in 1882, including the J-1690 (to
the extent of 30 to 75 examples).
Though the J-1690 is often referred to as having the exact same design as the
regular issue, there are a few, very subtle differences, involving the distance
between Miss Liberty and the upper right stars (on the obverse) and the top let
side of the V and corn stalk (on the reverse). For a link to Brian Schneider's
discussion of the differences between J-1690 and the 1883 No Cents Liberty
Nickel, click here. Mr. Schneider is the founder of the Liberty Nickel Collector
Society.
