If we were to give you a nickel today, you would think us mad. The nickel is a 5-cent coin with very low buying power, and it is doubtful that you can purchase anything with a single nickel, not even a stick of gum. However, this specific ‘Liberty’ coin, or 5-cent coin, is much more valuable than the modern nickel. This ‘Liberty’ coin could make you a whopping $5M richer, so before you toss out your old nickels, verify your numismatics to see if you have this rare coin.
The history of the ‘Liberty’ coin that could make you $5M richer
According to the American Numismatic Association, the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel was never meant to be minted, because it was supposed to be succeeded by the new Buffalo design. Strangely enough, their existence remained unknown until 6 years later. In December 1919, Samuel W. Brown placed an advertisement in The Numismatist, offering to buy any example of the coin for $500. Brown had worked at the Philadelphia Mint. Soon after his advertisement, he obtained five 1913 Liberty coins, without revealing the source. The coins were eventually displayed at Chicago’s 1920 American Numismatic Association convention.
A Philadelphia coin dealer, August Wagner, bought the five Liberty coins in 1924. The coins had various owners thereafter but ended up in the ownership of Eric P. Newman and Burdette Johnson, who sold them in the mid-1940s. At this time, the coins obtained their current nicknames based on the collectors who bought them. The five coins were commonly known as:
- Norweb – sold for an undisclosed amount in an undisclosed year
- Eliasberg – sold for $4.15M in 2005
- Olsen – sold for $3.29M in 2013
- Walton – sold for $3.73M in 2010
- McDermott – sold for $1.48M in 1996
Some have referred to the coins as the “Fab Five,” which have become some of the world’s most valuable coins.
Two of the valuable Liberty coins can be seen on display
Per the American Numismatic Association, the McDermott and Walton coins are currently on display for anyone curious about the mysterious 1913 Liberty Head Nickel.
The McDermott Coin
For many years, J.V. McDermott advertised in the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, which often listed and discussed the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel. He was always keen on carrying the coin in his pocket, regularly doing a “show and tell” at convention hotel bars. After he died in 1966, the coin was auctioned in 1967 and sold to Aubrey E. Bebee. Bebee and his wife, Adeline, retired from their coin business in 1989 and donated the coin to the ANA Money Museum.
The Walton Coin
In 1942, George Walton bought the coin from Eric P. Newman. For many years, he regularly displayed the coin as a part of his collection at shows. In 1962, Walton was killed in a car accident. His family misidentified the valuable coin as counterfeit. The coin was stored for years until his family rediscovered and authenticated it at the 2003 ANA convention in Baltimore. The coin is on loan to the ANA Money Museum as part of the “Dazzling Rarities Collection.”
Characteristics of the 1913 Liberty Head 5-cent coin
For private owners of the other coins who are uncertain if their coins are legit, you can verify the coin with the following characteristics:
Obverse
- Left-facing portrait of Liberty Head with hair tied back
- A coronet with the word “LIBERTY” crowns her head
- Thirteen stars encircle the Liberty head
Reverse
- The Roman numeral “V” is displayed
- A wreath of corn, cotton, and wheat leaves encircles the V
- The inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” appears in an arc around half of the coin’s edge, with the inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” in a smaller font
- “FIVE CENTS” appears along the lower edge
If you are the private owner of one of these valuable coins, congratulations!
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