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1913 Liberty Nickel
Five Liberty Head nickels were made in 1913 under
mysterious circumstances when the United States Mint was changing from
Charles Barber’s Liberty Head motif to the Buffalo/Indian design
engraved by James Earle Fraser.
The existence of these five 1913 Liberty Head nickels
was unknown until December 1919, when an advertisement in The
Numismatist offered to purchase any example for $500. The ad was
placed by Samuel W. Brown, a former employee of the U.S. Mint. Many
researchers believe Brown placed the ad to legitimize his coins. The
following year, Brown exhibited all five nickels at the American
Numismatic Association (ANA) convention in Chicago. The
“Fabulous Five” remained together as a set until the mid
1940s, when they were separated and sold. In July 2003 the finest known
specimen sold for a reported $3 million.
A Multimillion-Dollar Coin Comes Out of Hiding.
The Walton specimen, now on exhibit at the ANA Money
Museum, was believed lost for some 40 years. The coin was supposed to be
in the possession of George Walton when he was killed in an automobile
accident on March 9, 1962, but was not found. In actuality, the rare
nickel had been miss-identified and was in the hands of the Walton
family, stored in a box hidden in a closet. The family brought the coin
forward in 2003 after learning that the other four specimens were being
united for a special display at the ANA’s national convention in
Baltimore. The result, after the coin was authenticated at the
convention, was the first reunion of all five 1913 Liberty Head nickels
since the set was broken up in the 1940s.
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