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Gold v nickle?!!!
- Thread starter Mark kus
- Start date
Tony (Michigan)
New member
n/t
Blind Squirrel
Well-known member
Mkus, Enderman is correct. It's a "racketeer" nickel. In 1883, the first year of mintage of Charles Barber's "V" nickel, some unscrupulous individuals, noting the similar size and appearance to the $5 gold coin, and the lack of stated denomination , plated them to pass off as $5 gold coins. This created such an uproar that the design was changed to include the word "Cents". Consequently there are 2 varieties of the 1883 Barber Nickle - those with cents and those without cents. Neat and historic find! Best of luck and...
Happy Hunting!
Blind Squirrel
Happy Hunting!
Blind Squirrel
Blind Squirrel
Well-known member
Mkus said:
You are welcome, Mkus. It's a genuine 1883 No Cents Barber or V nickel only gold plated to deceive. Best of luck and...
Happy Hunting!
Blind Squirrel
"Just joshing you" came from the late 1800's and has a very interesting story behind it!
Josh Tatum was a deaf mute, but a very enterprising young man from the Midwest. In 1883 the US Mint came out with a new nickel. It was deemed the Liberty Head Nickel and on the reverse side had a large roman numeral V stamped on it. The new nickel did not have the word "cents" or "nickel" stamped on it. Josh Tatum noticed this and the fact that it was nearly the same size as the US $5.00 gold piece, which at the time was used as common currency. With the help of a friend familiar in gold electroplating base metal, they turned these coins into a literal gold mine. Tatum went from town to town going into shops, stores & mercantile. He was very careful not to purchase anything that cost more than a nickel, where he would hand over one of these gold plated nickels. The clerk would accept the coin, and in most instances give Josh back $4.95 in change, which he happily would take. By the time law enforcement caught up to him, he had visited hundreds of towns & had amassed a small fortune!.
The Law prosecuted him but ironically he was found not guilty on the most serious charges, because he only purchased items that totaled 5 cents, and because he was deaf & could not speak he never represented that it was a new $5.00 gold piece.
The same year, the US mint added the word "cents" to the Liberty Head Nickle in an effort to bring this type of fraud to a halt.
Hence the famous saying: your not Joshing me are you
Josh Tatum was a deaf mute, but a very enterprising young man from the Midwest. In 1883 the US Mint came out with a new nickel. It was deemed the Liberty Head Nickel and on the reverse side had a large roman numeral V stamped on it. The new nickel did not have the word "cents" or "nickel" stamped on it. Josh Tatum noticed this and the fact that it was nearly the same size as the US $5.00 gold piece, which at the time was used as common currency. With the help of a friend familiar in gold electroplating base metal, they turned these coins into a literal gold mine. Tatum went from town to town going into shops, stores & mercantile. He was very careful not to purchase anything that cost more than a nickel, where he would hand over one of these gold plated nickels. The clerk would accept the coin, and in most instances give Josh back $4.95 in change, which he happily would take. By the time law enforcement caught up to him, he had visited hundreds of towns & had amassed a small fortune!.
The Law prosecuted him but ironically he was found not guilty on the most serious charges, because he only purchased items that totaled 5 cents, and because he was deaf & could not speak he never represented that it was a new $5.00 gold piece.
The same year, the US mint added the word "cents" to the Liberty Head Nickle in an effort to bring this type of fraud to a halt.
Hence the famous saying: your not Joshing me are you
kschae4
Well-known member
Bertman, thanks for posting for the history lesson. After finding my only '83 v nickel (type1 ) just a few years ago (same property where I saved the NJ colonial copper from last week ) I had to read up on why that first year had no denomination too. I was really pumped, too. http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Hierarchy.aspx?c=82&title=Liberty+Nickel