The Associated Press reports the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is so valuable because in 1913 the U.S. mint started producing Buffalo or American Indian Head nickels instead of Liberty Head nickels that were produced from 1883-1912. The 1913 Liberty Head was either struck by accident by the U.S.
The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five known to exist, but it's the coin's back story that adds to its cachet: It was surreptitiously and illegally cast, discovered in a car wreck that killed its owner, declared a fake, forgotten in a closet for decades and then found to be the real deal.
According to the NGC Price Guide, as of July 2023, a Buffalo Nickel from 1913 in circulated condition is worth between $5 and $37.50. However, on the open market 1913 TYPE 1 Nickels in pristine, uncirculated condition sell for as much as $27500.
A month after Paul Montgomery, a coin collector in New Hampshire, offered a $1 million reward for the 1913 Liberty Head nickel-one of the rarest American coins-the Walton family came forward and said that they thought they owned one.
According to the American Numismatic Association, there are only five known 1913 Liberty Head Nickels: the McDermott, Eliasberg, Norweb, Olsen and, of course, Walton. No one knows exactly how or why these five coins were made.
Rare Nickel Sells for Record-Breaking $4.5 Million
A rare 1913 Liberty Head nickel fetched a lot of pocket change Wednesday night at a Philadelphia auction, selling for more than $4.5 million.
1913 Liberty Nickel
The 1913 Liberty Nickels are the rarest nickels ever made because only five were minted.
' An auction house specializing in currency announced it recently purchased a rare nickel coin for millions of dollars. The coin, called the Walton 1913 Liberty Head nickel, was sold to GreatCollections for a whopping $4.2 million dollars, according to a press release put out Sunday by the auction house.
What years of nickels are worth money? Many years of nickels are worth money, but the 1913 Liberty Head V is the most valuable nickel. You can find a range of nickels worth money in many years, including 1880, 1885, 1919, 1920, 1926, 1927, 1936, 1937, 1942, and 1964.
For example, a 1939 Jefferson nickel isn't worth much, but one that has a “D” mintmark on the reverse can greatly increase the dollar value. Similarly, those minted between 1942 and 1945 with a large “P,” “D,” or “S” on the reverse contain silver and are rising quickly in price.
The 1964 nickel was the last 5-cent coin to bear mint marks till 1968. The rare 1964 nickel entails a sharper appearance than previous Jefferson nickels. The proof 1964 nickel portrays the appearance most and can retail for approximately $4 to $7. A specific type of error can make a 1964 nickel rare.
David Bowers (edited and updated by Mike Sherman): The Type II Buffalo nickel is similar to the Type I of 1913 except for the reverse. The Type II features a restyled area at the bottom of the reverse. The buffalo previously standing on raised ground is now on a line or plane.
In reality, the 5 cent nickel has been expensive to produce for some time. The U.S. Mint reported the nickel's unit cost rose by 14.8% in Fiscal Year 2021. For the 16th year in a row, nickels were more expensive to produce than they were worth as cash.
The most valuable Jefferson nickels are the wartime ones because they contained silver. In the past, some of these coins have sold for $10,000! Let's start by sharing some verified sales stats on Jefferson nickels.
In 1964, the nation faced a coin shortage, leading Congress to authorize a date freeze on the Jefferson Nickel. The 1964 issues have the greatest number minted of all nickels produced. Because there was a date freeze, some 1964 nickels were struck in 1965 and well into 1966.
All nickels produced in 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 are made from 35% silver. These coins have one other distinguishing feature as well. The mint mark is featured on the reverse side of the coin above the depiction of Monticello.
The coin is one of only five in existence.
GreatCollections announced this week that it had acquired an exceedingly rare 1913 Liberty Head nickel from a Florida family for $4.2 million. The coin, which is also known as the Walton nickel, is believed to be one of only five examples in existence.
Here's a list of the top 10 most valuable pennies for 2023: 1) 1944 Steel Wheat Penny - $408,000. 2) 1943 Copper Wheat Penny - $250,000. 3) 1856 Flying Eagle Penny - $25,000.
The Limited Supply of Buffalo Nickels
San Francisco's production of the 1926 buffalo nickel slowed down even more, totaling only 970,000. Philadelphia alone produced over 45 million coins and Denver minted about 6 million. Again, 1926-S versions of the buffalo nickel are a rare date, and highly sought after.
1894-S Barber Dime - $1,997,500
One of the rarest US coins in existence according PCGS Coin Trackers, the 1894-S Barber dime has only nine known examples today.
The lowest mintage circulating coin is the 1950-D Jefferson Nickel, which is generally considered to be the key date issue at only 2,630,030 pieces.
The 1913 Liberty Head nickel, which is not a regular-issue coin as it was never formally released into circulation, is now considered one of the rarest and most valuable coins in all of numismatics.