LYCOS RETRIEVER 
1913: 1913 Liberty Head Nickel
built 232 days ago
By the mid 1940's, the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel was an integral part of the national psyche. The coin had become iconic to a generation of Americans, so when specimens were quietly sold off as singles from the original set of 5 or 6 (which until then had been held intact,) they sold for exhoribant sums of money, as much as $3,750 each. Each time a specimen became available, the price got higher, the hype became louder, and the legend grew deeper.
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A 1913 Liberty Head nickel sold for $1 million in 1993, another sold for $1.5 million in 1996, and a third sold for $1.85 million in 2001. It is entirely possible that this nickel will reach the $5 million mark as the popularity of rare coins continues to grow, Smith said.
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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.
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The 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is one of the most valuable coins in the world. Only 5 specimens are confirmed to exist, although there is an intriguing hint that there might be a sixth. The 1913 Liberty Nickel is valued at a minimum of $3 million as of this writing, but that could change soon as the world's finest known specimen is about to change hands.
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Anyway, years later the megalacoindealer of his time, B. Max Mehl of Fort Worth, Texas, advertised to pay $50 a piece for 1913 Liberty Head Nickels. According to Breen, Mehl later admitted spending over a million 1930's Depression Era dollars for the nationwide advertising campaign. The ads weren't actually expected to bring any sellers to him as he knew that only a few had been struck. The guy was a marketing guru in numismatics for his day. The stimulus for the rare coin market was terrific. People were checking their pocket change.
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Speculation is that an employee of the Philadelphia Mint struck the five 1913 Liberty Head nickels in January or February of that year. Although not illegal, the production was probably unscrupulous. Samuel W. Brown, a numismatist and an assistant curator of one of the collections in the Philadelphia Mint, definitely was involved, and he eventually produced the nickels.
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1913 Liberty Head Nickel