1883 "No Cents" Nickel
Perhaps one of the most storied coins in United States history is the first variety of the Liberty Head nickel. After the termination of silver half-dime production, mint designers thought that it was appropriate to carry the visage of Miss Liberty a new five-cent nickel and replace the shield type. Designed by Charles E. Barber, this coin was given a more polygonal
depiction of her than the traditional "Barber obverse".Yet more important to the stories surrounding the coin's release was the
reverse. One of the prime ideas of the reverse design was to include a Roman numeral "V" instead of "5" or "five". The word "cents" or any implication thereof was not to be found. This was thought to beautify the coin, and it did, but it also created some confusion. Because the only other coin to carry a Roman numeral was a low value at three cents, the mint did not figure that people would interpret this silver-colored coin for anything other than five cents. And no one did.But people did mistake the gold-colored ones. Yes, certain individuals had an idea to set up a scam. They would gold plate and reed the pieces without the word "cents" as they first came out, hoping to come upon an uneducated sales clerk. Then, they would pay using their "
gold" coins and see if their change was what it should be for a $5 half eagle. Either way, the schemers would just be happy and leave, sometimes making out like bandits.So how could this happen? Well, when the coin first came out, it was 1883, and news didn't travel like it does now. Even half a year into the 50 State Quarters program, some cashiers believed the coins to be counterfeit, so you can imagine the problems the nickel caused. Also, the nickel was 21.2mm, and the $5 half eagle was 21.6mm. Counterfeiters thus had a rather easy time convincing cashiers of the high value until the "cents" version came out later in the year. Finally, the similarities between the respective
obverses were startling! You could not tell one from the other just by glancing.The most famous of these "racketeers" was Josh Tatum. A man from the Boston area, Tatum gathered an approximated 3000 of these nickels and altered all of them. He would go into a cigar store, ask for a 5-cent cigar, hand the clerk the coin, and usually get $4.95 in change. Eventually, he was taken to court for this. Every single clerk said that Tatum never actually asked for change, and the defense testified that Tatum was both deaf and mute. The judge laughed it off, and rendered the verdict "not guilty" due to the facts that gold plating a coin was not illegal, Tatum never asked for change, and the clerks deserved it if they were that stupid. From this, we get the modern expression of "Joshing me."
About five and a half million "no cents" pieces were made, and they're actually worth less than the sixteen million 1883 "with cents" nickel. The "no cents" variety is valued at $3.50 in good condition, $7 in very fine, and $27 uncirculated. The "with cents" variety is worth $8 good, $23 very fine, and $100 uncirculated.
NOTE: None of the pictured coins are in my collection. I do own one 1883 "no cents", unplated, in very good condition.
-Gee
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