Inexpensive Type Coins Make Great Sets

By Mike Thorne, Coins Magazine January 03, 2012

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
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At some point in every coin collector’s life, he or she realizes that collecting everything is out of the question. (Louis Eliasberg was the exception here, of course, as he formed a complete collection of all known U.S. issues.) Usually the issue is cost, as there are many coins that are simply too expensive for ordinary collectors to contemplate owning.

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Another problem can be availability. That is, even if the collector is rich, there are some coins that are so rare that an appropriate example may not be offered during the individual’s collecting lifetime.

So what is the collector of modest means and finite life span to do? One possibility is to be satisfied with incomplete sets. As examples from my collecting life, I soon discovered that if I wanted to collect either Barber or Standing Liberty quarters, I would have to be content to form sets missing at least one key coin in each case (1901-S for the Barbers and 1916 for the Standing Liberties).

Another possibility that is particularly relevant for 19th-century issues is to collect by type rather than striving for complete date/mintmark collections. As Q. David Bowers explains in United States Coins by Design Types, “instead of collecting a single series or specialty by die varieties or mintmarks, a display is formed consisting of one each of many different motifs.”

In other words, rather than trying to assemble a set of all the different dates and varieties of nickel three-cent pieces, for example, the type collector is content to have just one nickel three-cent piece for his type collection. With this introduction, I will now list 10 early type coins that I consider to be interesting and relatively inexpensive. Each can be obtained in a nice, collectible grade at the present time for $100 or less. Note that my list is not intended to be exhaustive; I can think of at least as many additional early types that could be included in an inexpensive set as the ones I’ve chosen to discuss here.

1. Draped Bust half cent in Very Good-8. With a design by Robert Scot, a decent circulated Draped Bust half cent will be an impressive coin to show your non-collecting friends. Coined between 1800 and 1808, most of the dates had relatively large mintages, so finding one in VG-8 for $100 or less should not be terribly difficult.

If you have a choice of dates, the one to look for is 1803, with a mintage of just 97,900 pieces. The November 2011 edition of Numismatic News “Coin Market” assigns this date a value of $95 in VG-8 and $105 in Fine-12.

On one interesting variety of 1804 half cent, Liberty appears to have a spiked chin. With a listed value of $105 in VG-8, it’s possible that you can obtain a well circulated, but still presentable, example of this variety for $100 or less.

2. Draped Bust large cent in VG-8. Like the half cent, the large cent of this period was designed by Robert Scot. Also like the half cent, this is a suitably old and impressive type coin for your inexpensive early collection.

Although this series of large cents was minted between 1796 and 1807, you’re unlikely to find any of the pre-1800 varieties for less than $100, unless it’s in a condition that you wouldn’t want to include in your collection.

Beginning in 1801, however, you’ll find that most of the dates are valued at $100 or less in VG-8. Actually, the only date from 1801 to 1807 that is worth more than this is the 1804, which is a key date that lists for $1,000 even in About Good-3.

If you have a choice of dates, go for the 1806 at exactly $100 in VG-8. This is a coin with a mintage significantly below that of the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent, and you can be sure that 1806 large cents were not differentially saved.

3. Two-cent piece in About Uncirculated-Uncirculated. The two-cent piece was designed by James B. Longacre, who is better known for designing the Indian Head cent. This was a short-lived series minted between 1864 and 1872, with only proofs struck in 1873. The two-cent piece is perhaps most noteworthy as the first U.S. coin to display the motto “In God We Trust.”

If you haven’t priced two-cent pieces lately, you may be amazed to find that most of the early dates, between 1864 (large motto) and 1867, should still be available in AU-50 to Mint State-60 for $100 or less. The most expensive of these, the 1867, lists for $96 in AU-50; the earlier dates range between $88 and $98 in MS-60.

Of course, an MS-60 two-cent piece might be a real horror, with staining or damage but no wear. You may find that a nice AU-55 or -58 would be a more presentable coin for your set.

4. Nickel three cent piece in AU-Unc. Because of hoarding of all silver coins, including the silver three-cent piece, a nickel version of the denomination, with suitable design change, was introduced in 1865. The coin was also useful for retiring fractional currency of the three-cent denomination. Silver hoarding continued until 1876, after which the nickel three-cent piece became less useful and mintages (with one exception), dropped precipitously.

Designed by James B. Longacre, nickel three-cent pieces were coined between 1865 and 1889, with low mintages and some proof-only issues after 1876. The one exception to the low mintages in the latter years of the series occurred in 1881, when more than a million of the coin were struck. For type purposes, all of the dates through 1876 (and 1881) are valued at less than $100 in AU-50, with the 1876 (162,000 minted) having the highest value at $95 in this grade. In MS-60, three-cent pieces from 1865-1868 are worth exactly $100 each. As before, a coin in AU-55 or -58 might be more attractive than one in MS-60.

5. Capped Bust dime in Very Fine-20. Designed by John Reich, Capped Bust dimes were minted between 1809 and 1837, with minor design changes in 1828. Although some of the earlier dates are priced below $100 in F-12 (1820, 1821, 1823/22, 1825, 1827), dates with values appropriate for our inexpensive early type set are found in the dimes of the second variety, coined from 1828-1837.

Capped Bust dimes of the second variety valued at less than $100 in VF-12 are some of the 1829 varieties (medium 10 cents, small 10 cents), 1830 small and large 10 cents, and all of the dates from 1831-1837. Mintages are relatively large for the period, ranging from 485,000 to 1,410,000.

6. Seated Liberty dime in AU-50. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, Seated Liberty dimes, in one form or another, were minted between 1837 and 1891. Varieties include dimes with no stars on the obverse, dimes with stars, dimes on which the stars are replaced with “United States of America,” and dimes with arrows at the date. Seated Liberty dimes valued at less than $100 in AU-50 can be found in the group minted between 1875 and 1891.

Within this group, you’ll find a large number of dates to choose from. Examples include 1875, 1875-CC, 1875-S, 1882-1884, and 1887-1889. All of these have rather large mintages, which is why they’re so reasonably valued for coins in the late 19th century. Given the choice, I would probably opt for the 1875-CC because of the mintmark.

7. Capped Bust quarter in VG-8. There are two varieties of Capped Bust quarters, the large-size (27mm diameter) variety designed by John Reich and minted from 1815 to 1828 and the reduced-size version (24.3mm) designed by William Kneass and coined from 1831 to 1838. Kneass also omitted the motto above the eagle on the reverse.

Although several of the earlier version are valued at or below $100 in G-4 and would be well worth including in an inexpensive type collection, I’ve chosen to highlight the smaller coin, as it should be available in a slightly higher grade for the same money. In fact, with one exception (1834 O/F in OF), all of the dates from 1831 to 1838 are valued between $90 and $100 in VG-8. If you can afford a slightly better coin, you’ll find that the value listed for each in F-12 is either $110 or $115. With the exception of 1835, of which nearly 2 million were coined, mintages range from 156,000 (1833) to 832,000 (1838).

8. Seated Liberty quarter with motto in Extremely Fine-40. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, with motto Seated Liberty quarters were minted from 1875 to 1891. Several dates at the beginning of the series (1875-1878) and a few at the end (1888-S, 1891, 1891-S) had large mintages and should be available in a nice circulated grade for $100 or less. In EF-40, the following dates have values of $62.50: 1875, 1876, 1876-S, 1877-S, 1878, 1888-S, 1891, and 1891-S. In addition, the variety of 1876-CC with fine reeding lists for just $90 in EF-40.

Another Seated Liberty 25-cent type that I find appealing and remarkably inexpensive is the version with both arrows at the date and rays around the eagle. The purpose of the arrows and rays was to indicate that the weight of the coin had been reduced. All three date/mintmark varieties of this type are inexpensive, although none qualify for the under $100 in EF-40 category.

The 1853 arrows and rays quarter had a mintage of more than 15 million and lists for just $44 in VF-20. The same coin with a New Orleans mintmark had less than a tenth of the mintage and is worth $85 in VF-20.

In 1854 and 1855, the arrows were retained, but the rays were removed. With large mintages, both 1854 and 1855 list for $70 in EF-40. The “normal” variety of the 1854-O is worth just $60 in VF-20.

9. Bust Half Dollar in VF-20. Capped Bust half dollars, designed by John Reich and minted between 1807 and 1836, come in a bewildering array of variations and are great fun to collect. In fact, there’s even a well known organization of collectors of these coins. Called the Bust Half Nut Club, the club was formed “in the late 1960s as a group dedicated to collecting, studying, and sharing information among fellow members about Bust Half Dollars attributed by Overton [famous reference identifying different die pairs] die marriage.” Obviously, the BHNC is not appropriate for someone interested in just a type coin of this variety.

For the type collector, sizable mintages mean that there are many possibilities for your collecting pleasure. According to the second edition of the Professional Edition of the Red Book (A Guide Book of United States Coins), “Examples of most dates and overdates are easily found in just about any grade desired, from Fine and VF to MS.”

Dates listing for $100 or less in VF-20 begin to appear and become plentiful between 1821 and 1836. In fact, there’s at least one variety in the under-$100 category for each date during this period.

Of course, after you purchase one of these large and attractive coins, you may decide that you would like to pursue the whole series. From there, it’s an easy step to the BHNC.

10. Seated Liberty half dollar in VF-20. Seated Liberty half dollars were designed by Christian Gobrecht and were coined, often in sizable quantities, between 1839 and 1891. Within this lengthy period, there are varieties without the motto “In God We Trust,” with arrows and rays, with arrows only, and with the motto. In each case, the type collector should be able to find a number of dates that cost less than $100 apiece in VF-20. Toward the end of the run, from 1875 through 1891, several dates list for $100 or less even in EF-40.

In the first group of Seated Liberty halves, minted from 1839-1853, examples of dates worth less than $100 in VF-20 are 1839 with drapery, 1840 small letters, 1840-O, 1842 medium date, 1847, 1847-O, and 1850-O. The range of values for these dates is from $65 to $90.

As with the Seated quarters discussed above, 1853 brought a weight reduction to the Seated Liberty half dollar. In VF-20, the 1853 with arrows and rays lists for just $88.

In the run of motto-less Seated Liberty half dollars minted from 1856-1866, the majority of the dates list for less than $100 in VF-20. Several of these are valued at either $100 or $105 in EF-40.

The same can be said for many of the dates with mottoes, minted between 1866 and 1891. Mintages dropped a great deal after 1878, with the exception of 1891, and you will hard pressed to find any of these dates in the under $100 category in any grade.

Of course, it’s easy for me to list coins for an inexpensive type collection based on values found in “Coin Market.” The question is, “Can you really purchase nice coins at these prices?” From my limited experience, the answer is yes. In 2009, for example, I bought a certified VG-10 1831 Capped Bust quarter for $80. A little over a year later, I found an 1835 that I would conservatively grade F-12 for just $82.

I looked on eBay at finished auctions to see what some of these types were selling for. In each case, I was able to find coins that fit the grade and price criteria.

I will admit that some of the coins I saw were optimistically graded and sometimes wildly overpriced even when graded correctly. However, if you are willing to overlook the dross, you can find decent coins, and you should be able to obtain them for amounts in line with the information in this article.

Happy type collecting.

Nickel Has Historic Appeal

By Tom LaMarre, Coins Magazine April 04, 2011

This article was originally printed in Coins Magazine.
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From an American Indian to Thomas Jefferson, and from an American bison to Monticello, the new nickel represented a dramatic change in themes and styles. But Americans took it in stride and started a run on Jefferson nickels that took years to subside.

The idea of placing Jefferson’s portrait on a coin may have originated with George W. Williams, president of the Baltimore Coin Club. Writing to the Mint director in April 1937, he suggested a series of presidential coins, starting with Thomas Jefferson. No one could have guessed what a big deal it would become.

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The Jefferson nickel—or “Jeffersonian” nickel, as the New York Times originally referred to it—created a sensation when the first examples went into circulation in 1938. Americans snapped up the coins as quickly as they could get them, and the hoarding continued throughout 1939.

Even a Hollywood star got into the act. The July 30, 1939, issue of The Morning Star, published in Wilmington, Del., reported that Cecil B. DeMille had rewarded Barbara Stanwyck with a newly minted Jefferson nickel for her outstanding performances in scenes of the 1939 movie “Union Pacific.”

One of today’s big-name actors probably would be insulted with the gift of a nickel. But Miss Stanwyck, as she insisted on being called, was thrilled with her presentation coin, presumably a 1938-S nickel. According to the Star, she was assembling a collection of Jefferson nickels.

Miss Stanwyck wasn’t alone. Banks began issuing Jefferson nickels on Nov. 16, 1938. But as late as January 1939, the new coins were seldom seen in circulation. In Reading, Pa., Loew’s Colonial Theater had counted only six Jefferson nickels.

The Reading Street Railway, which took in thousands of nickels a day, reported it had spotted only two examples.

A rumor was partly to blame. Word spread that Jefferson nickel production had been suspended because the coin’s designer, Felix Schlag, had forgotten to put a flagpole and flag on Monticello’s dome. Treasury officials denied the story, but they only managed to focus more attention on the so-called “omission.”

Attempting to end hoarding, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau announced in January 1939 that the Jefferson nickel was still worth only five cents. In June 1939, however, some newspapers mistakenly reported the Jefferson nickel had been withdrawn from circulation.

There was no question about it. The Jefferson nickel was a hit. On Thanksgiving Day 1938, a government official said the Treasury gave thanks because the new Jefferson nickel was such a success.

Chicago sculptor Felix Schlag was thankful, too, but his gratitude was tinged with regret that changes had been made to his award-winning design.

The Treasury Department announced a Jefferson nickel design competition on Jan. 25, 1938. The winner would receive a $1,000 cash prize. As the Albuquerque Journal put it, at $1,000 the nickel cost many times what it would buy.

Three prominent sculptors—Sidney Waugh, Albert Stewart and Heinz Warneke—would judge the entries. The Numismatist called it a “free-for-all competition,” and many entrants disregarded the rules regarding the design requirements.

The rules made it clear the government was not required to preserve the entries, but there was nothing to prevent an artist from doing so. In 1994 Stack’s auctioned two uniface plaster models entered in the competition by Karl Hejda. They realized $4,180. Dies were later made from the models and used to strike specimens of “the nickel that never was.”

Schlag’s designs, completed and submitted by train at the last minute, were chosen from the 390 models submitted. He later recalled:

“I came to the United States in 1929, after winning a dozen European art contests, and worked as an auto stylist for General Motors in Detroit. While in Chicago in 1934, I won several commissions for sculptures on public buildings and first prize for a model of a fountain and first prize for the design of a Red Cross medal.”

The U.S. Mint website also says, “Schlag was an auto stylist for General Motors.” But Schlag himself didn’t mention it when he addressed American Numismatic Association members at their 1964 convention in Cleveland, saying in part:

“The life of most sculptors in the Depression years was rather hard. Not all lived in splendor. Sometimes I worked in ivory, window displays, silver, and for half a year with pick and shovel and, at the same time, as a busboy at night just to make a living. I was always on the move.”

Schlag fought in the German army during World War I. But he became an American citizen in 1938, the same year the Jefferson nickel made its debut. Concerning the coin’s design, Schlag wrote:

“One day in the mail arrived an official-looking letter announcing a design competition for a new five-cent coin. That would change my life forever, bringing me undreamed achievement and to the brink of grief.

“As I looked at the explicit and exacting rules of the competition, I learned there was little room for the creative mind of the artist. Two plaster models had to be submitted to the government, representing obverse and reverse of the nickel. The subject matter must contain an authentic portrait of Thomas Jefferson and a perfect representation of Monticello. There were endless restrictions.

“Coinage law required the word ‘Liberty,’ the date and the bust on the obverse. On the reverse, in addition to Monticello, the inscriptions ‘E Pluribus Unum’ and ‘United States of America,’ as well as the denomination ‘Five Cents.’ The coin would have to contain the motto ‘In God We Trust.’

“Plaster models could not be signed or initialed and could not exceed 8.5 inches in diameter. The depth of the relief from the border to the deepest part of the design must be 5/32nds of an inch. If the designs were not satisfactory, no contract would be awarded and all that work would have been for nothing. However, the winning designer would have to sign a formal contract with the Department of the Treasury.

“I stiffened at all of these rules and regulations, but because of the Depression and lean times, the $1,000 prize would be a considerable windfall.

“Ideas come in a sudden gush or a flurry of deep recognition. But sometimes ideas do not come at all. One night at about 10:00 p.m., after a hard day’s work, I entered an old bookstore in my neighborhood to browse. To my great surprise and excitement, in the first magazine I opened I found a portrait of Jefferson that I intuitively knew depicted the noble qualities of the true American statesman. My search was over. My decision to compete was now certain.”

The magazine photo pictured Jean-Antoine Houdon’s bust of Thomas Jefferson. Schlag made a perfect likeness of a side view of the sculpture.

Schlag’s original model for the reverse was entirely different from the design that went into production.

“For the reverse design,” Schlag wrote, “I chose a three-quarter view of Monticello, Jefferson’s private home at Charlottesville, Va. In front of the structure was a small tree. With deft strokes, Monticello was built again in a design considered by many artists and collectors to be superior to the design that was finally chosen by the committee. I heard later that it was President Roosevelt who wanted a front view of the house.”

The modern lettering also had to be changed. The design went back to Schlag in May 1938 for the revisions the Treasury Department described as “minor” but which actually required an all-new design. Work continued throughout June, with no additional compensation paid to Schlag, as stipulated by the rules for the competition. The Treasury Department gave its final approval to the design on July 21, 1938.

“Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross, then Director of the Mint, advised me that the Acting Secretary of the Treasury had approved the models and Philadelphia was being instructed to surrender the prize money,” Schlag later said. “Considering the actual time involved to create the models, the reward itself was nominal. When the check arrived, every cent was used to pay debts accumulated due to the sickness, death and funeral expenses of someone close to me.”

Schlag was referring to his first wife, who died while he was working on the Jefferson nickel design.

Jefferson nickel production started Oct. 2, 1938, at the Philadelphia Mint and the Denver Mint. The front page of the Oct. 8, 1938, issue of the Spartansburg, S.C., Herald-Journal pictured the first bags of Jefferson nickels. On them were giant facsimile plaques “struck off in honor of the occasion,” showing both sides of the coin.

According to another newspaper article, the San Francisco Mint began striking Jefferson nickels Oct. 12, 1938, with a goal of 3 million—$150,000 worth—to be finished by Nov. 1.

The Dec. 1, 1938, issue of the Lodi News-Sentinel said the “vanishing redskin” and “doughty buffalo” were making their last stand on the nickel. Buffalo nickel production ended with the striking of coins at the Denver Mint.

Some critics wanted to keep the Indian portrait on the nickel. But according to The Evening Independent, published in St. Petersburg, Fla., no one had complained about the disappearing buffalo.

The Pittsburgh Press opposed the design change because the five-cent nickel did not even exist when Jefferson was president. The newspaper said a Jefferson dime would have been more appropriate.

Complaints about the Jefferson nickel also appeared in the April 21, 1938, issue of the Washington Post and the Sept. 8, 1938, issue of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

There were other problems with the new nickel. Rumor had it they didn’t fit in slot machines. Monticello was often mistaken for the White House, despite the inscription “Monticello” on the nickel’s reverse. There was also talk of the “pinkishness” of the new nickel, and complaints of Jefferson turning red. Others said the critics were seeing “pink elephants.”

Despite the negative comments, people snapped up Jefferson nickels as quickly as they could get them. The Reno Evening Gazette said the public was accepting the new nickels without protest, although coin collectors believed it was not a work of art like the Buffalo nickel.

The Numismatist said the Jefferson portrait was the coin’s best feature. The magazine also praised the depiction of a building on the reverse of a U.S. coin as a welcome innovation, saying it was time something other than a wreath or eagle appeared on the reverse of U.S. coins.

Schlag would have preferred his even more innovative three-quarter view of Monticello. He obtained some proof 1938 nickels and mounted them on autographed cards bearing photographs of his original models. The cards were numbered and autographed by Schlag, and notarized by Paul Wagner on Sept. 29, 1939.

The designer wasn’t the only one to capitalize on the new nickel. In January 1939, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad handed out cards containing Jefferson nickels when making change for passengers. Despite their scarcity in circulation, Jefferson nickels were undoubtedly included in a massive stash of stolen nickel. In January 1939, New York District Attorney Thomas Dewey, arch foe of gangsters, charged that at least 26 million nickels had been stolen from subway turnstiles. Eight men were arrested.

The Jefferson nickel supply increased by nearly 6 million in June 1939, bringing the total number struck to more than 66 million. But hoarding was still widespread, and so was the rumor of a Jefferson nickel recall.

Among the 120 million Jefferson nickel struck at the Philadelphia Mint were an undisclosed number with doubling of the inscriptions “Monticello” and “Five Cents.” New York City collectors discovered the 1939 Doubled Monticello variety in the early 1940s. Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine published the first photos of the variety in 1947.

World War II brought a resurgence of interest in the Jefferson nickel when its composition was changed. Because nickel was needed for military uses, the government turned to other metals for the five-cent piece. The February 1943 issue of Popular Science explained the situation best, saying the metal had more important work to do than feeding juke boxes.

At first the Mint considered using an alloy of 50 percent silver and 50 percent copper. But testing revealed that five-cent coins struck in the alloy would not work in vending machines. So Congress instead authorized five-cent pieces struck in an alloy of 56 percent copper, 35 percent silver and nine percent manganese.

The new alloy went into production during the 1942 production run. To distinguish the “war nickels,” engravers added a large mint mark above Monticello’s dome, including for the first time a “P” for Philadelphia.

The Mint had toyed with the idea of a reeded edge to distinguish wartime alloy five-cent pieces. They dropped the scheme, but reeded-edge nickels were sold at bourse tables at the 1941 American Numismatic Association Convention in Philadelphia. The Numismatist said it had been stated “on excellent authority” that the coins were struck at the U.S. Mint.

Also displayed at the convention was a nickel with a flag engraved above Monticello, prepared for those who objected to its omission on nickels struck by the Mint.

The nickel returned to its original alloy and mint mark style in 1946, but nickels still made the news in the 1950s. In 1950, the Denver Mint struck fewer than 3 million nickels, making the 1950-D the lowest mintage Jefferson nickel intended for circulation. The entire production run of 1950-D nickels was completed in a single month, June. Speculators went wild for the coins, but the only place they were released in large quantities was Texas.

In 1953, the FBI cracked what it labeled the “Hollow Nickel Case.” The mystery began when a newsboy dropped a nickel and it broke into two pieces. This was not a typical magician’s hollowed-out coin. Inside was a microphotograph of a series of numbers, apparently in code, typed on a foreign typewriter.

The obverse of a 1948 Jefferson nickel had been used to make the coin. The “R” in “TRUST” had a tiny hole so a fine needle could be inserted to open the nickel.

The reverse was taken from another nickel, struck in the wartime alloy used from 1942 through 1945.

FBI experts tracked the altered coin to a Russian spy ring. Rudolph Ivanovich Abel was convicted of passing U.S. defense secrets, but the story did not end there. Abel was exchanged for American U-2 pilot Gary Powers in 1962.

In 1953, Francis L. Henning made counterfeit nickels in a machine shop in Arial, N.J., using two 1953 nickels as models. He struck 80,000 fake nickels, put them in rolls, loaded his car and drove from bank to bank to cash them in. Henning told the tellers he was a vending machine operator.

The counterfeit nickels were gone in just a week. Henning then struck another batch, using 1939, 1946, 1947 and 1944 nickels as models. The lack of a “P” mintmark on the 1944 counterfeits was Henning’s downfall. Coin collector Walter Williams noticed the omission.

With the Secret Service hot on his trail, Henning dumped thousands of counterfeit nickels into the Cooper River. He was arrested in October 1955. On Nov. 13, Philadelphia police found $10,000 in counterfeit nickels and two dies a the bottom of the Cooper River.

At the Philadelphia Mint in 1959, a batch of nickel planchets was left in the furnace too long after the annealing process, resulting in a black appearance. Collectors call it the “Black Beauty” variety and Mint State-64 examples have been offered for $250.

When the Mint was striking “Black Beauty” nickels, Baltimore was known as the city where nickel was king. It used more nickels than any other city. Baltimore city received seven 15-ton shipments of nickels a year. There were 670 bags of nickels in each tractor-trailer load that backed up to the rear of the Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore.

Belated recognition for the Jefferson nickel’s designer came in the 1960s. A Flint, Michigan coin club launched a campaign to add Schlag’s initials to the Jefferson nickel. The momentum grew, and in 1966 the Treasury secretary issued an order making it possible to place Schlag’s initials on 1966 nickels.

“Our engraver at Philadelphia is now busy, getting ready to turn back a bit of the coat of Mr. Thomas Jefferson, so that Mr. Schlag’s initials can be placed on the 1966 and all future issues of this coin,” Director of the Mint Eva Adams said at the Metropolitan Washington Numismatic Convention.

Adams presented Schlag with the first strike of the revised Jefferson nickel during the 75th anniversary ANA Convention in Chicago. Schlag died in Owosso, Mich. in 1974 at the age of 82. He had moved there in 1943 and opened a photographic studio.

In 2004 and 2005 the Westward Journey nickel series had designs commemorating the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark Exposition. There were two designs in 2004. The first had a reverse depicting and Indian Peace Medal and was designed by Norman E. Nemeth. The second used Al Maletsky’s rendition of Lewis and Clark in their keelboat by Jamie N. Franki and engraved by Norman Nemeth. The other version depicted the Pacific Ocean and words from William Clark’s diary upon reaching it. Donna Weaver engraved Joe Fitzgerald’s design.

The old depiction of Monticello returned to the reverse in 2006, with a new forward-facing image of Jefferson on the obverse. Jamie Franki designed the portrait, using an 1800 Rembrandt Peale painting of Jefferson as a model.

Taken for granted for decades, the original but obsolete Jefferson nickel design by Felix Schlag has taken on a certain historical appeal. It’s long production run brought many collectible dates and varieties and some interesting stories. Schlag himself probably said it best: “America got its nickel’s worth out of me, wouldn’t you agree?”

Fraser’s Acclaimed Buffalo Nickel

By Tom LaMarre, Coins Magazine January 05, 2011

This article was originally printed in Coins Magazine.
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The Buffalo nickel’s journey began on a drizzly day in February 1913. That’s when President William Howard Taft handed out samples from the first bag of Buffalo nickels. The passage ended when the Jefferson nickel arrived in late 1938. During the intervening quarter of a century, an almost continuous stream of newspaper articles served as mileposts along the Buffalo nickel trail.

The Buffalo nickel was designed for posterity. In 1911, Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh received a letter from his son Eames. “A little matter that seems to have been overlooked by all of you,” he wrote, “is the opportunity to beautify the design of the nickel or five-cent piece during your administration and it seems to me it would be a permanent souvenir of the most attractive sort.”

Fraser offered his services. He was born in 1876 in Winona, Minn., and grew up in South Dakota, a background which he later credited for his interest in American Indian artistic themes.

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After studying in Chicago and Paris, Fraser opened his own studio in New York in 1902. His most famous sculpture is the “End of the Trail,” which he began working on in 1894. Millions of visitors admired it at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, and countless copies and calendar images of the sculpture have been made. Fraser never copyrighted the sculpture, something he regretted as one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

In a January 1912 letter to the Mint director, MacVeagh wrote that Fraser was “a man who stands high in his profession,” adding that his sketches for the nickel were “in every way satisfactory.” He also expressed his pleasure that “we all have agreed to let him continue with the matter without looking further or incurring additional delay.”

A design competition had been considered, but Fraser lobbied against it, writing to the Mint director:

“In reference to a competition, I think the great trouble is that you may have numbers of sketches in the competition, one of which you may choose and, if I’m not mistaken, you will be forced to stick very closely to that design, even though it may not be quite up to what you want, whereas, working with a competent man, there would be no doubt that a great many designs would me made. In fact, you could go on working till something of real merit was produced. You may say, if you like, that I would be perfectly will to satisfy the Art Commission Mr. MacVeagh spoke of.”

Fraser was referring to the recently created Commission of Fine Arts, which served in an advisory capacity in the selection of new coinage designs. The Buffalo nickel was the first coin it was asked to appraise.

Like the “End of the Trail,” the Buffalo nickel reflected Fraser’s characteristic classical realism style. He used three Native Americans as models for the composite portrait on the nickel’s obverse, although many more claimed to be the model.

By using an American bison on the reverse of the coin, Fraser said he achieved perfect unity of theme and created an entirely American design. The model was Black Diamond, born in the Central Park Zoo of stock donated by Barnum and Bailey.

Mint Director George Roberts approved plaster models of the Buffalo nickel design in June 1912. Weeks later, a newspaper article said an executive order to change the nickel’s design would probably be issued “within a few weeks.” The December issue of The Numismatist said:

“According to recent newspaper reports, the new design for a nickel five-cent piece, the work of James Earle Fraser of New York City, has been approved by the Secretary of the Treasury and by the National Art Committee, and is said now to need but the approval of President Taft to become the official design for the coin of that denomination.

“As has been stated in previous issues of The Numismatist, the obverse design of the new piece is that of a buffalo, while on the reverse is the representation of an Indian head.

“There will be no ‘V’ [as on the reverse of the Liberty Head nickel], but the denomination is spelled in full, ‘Five Cents.’ The Numismatist hopes soon to be able to illustrate the new piece for its readers.”

The Mint struck pattern Buffalo nickels in January 1913. They had the same designs as the nickel approved for circulation but lacked Fraser’s “F” on the obverse.

Full-scale production of circulation-strike Buffalo nickels began Feb. 17, 1913, when a single press at the Philadelphia Mint began turning them out at the rate of 120 coins a minute.

President William Howard Taft handed out Buffalo nickels from the first bag during a ceremony at Fort Wadsworth, N.Y., on Feb. 22, 1913 (not March 4, 1913, the date cited by many sources). The occasion was the ground breaking for the National Memorial to the American Indian, which was never completed. Soon the coins were released across the country, although not everyone liked the design.

The March 11, 1913, issue of The Daily Times, published in Beaver, Pa., reprinted an article from the New York World calling the Buffalo nickel “Another Ridiculous Coin.” The writer went on to say:

“Is it not possible for Congress to curb the men in the Treasury Department who periodically play tricks with our money? A few years ago a sad attempt was made to beautify our gold coins. The celebrated Lincoln cent came next. Now we have the Buffalo nickel.

“Whatever may be said of the art expressed by these pieces they are more like medals, tokens, bangles, fobs or beer checks than money. Their inscriptions are indistinct and with a little wear will disappear.

“Our coinage ought not to be left wholly to the caprice of artists. Legibility should be the first consideration, with ornamentation second. There should be absolutely no uncertainty as to denominations.

“The Liberty Head used to be considered highly appropriate for our coins. If an act of Congress is necessary to restore it and keep it, that body should be heard from without delay.”

Writing in the March 1913 issue of The Numismatist, Edgar H. Adams noted that the new nickel had a concave surface, “the striking of which appears to have forced up the metal along the edge, thus making it so much thicker than that of the old type that it cannot be used in the [vending machines] now so common.”

The Treasury secretary received hundreds of complaints from manufacturers of coin-operated machines, particularly the Hobbs Manufacturing Co., which marketed a machine for detecting counterfeit coins. But after talks dragged on with no agreement, the companies were told they would just have to widen the slots in their machines to accommodate the new nickel.

The Spring 1957 issue of News from Home claimed, “Because of its thickness and shape, every machine in the country with a nickel slot had to be readjusted.”

The Numismatist predicted the Buffalo nickel’s “rough” surfaces would make it easy to counterfeit. Weeks after the first Buffalo nickels went into circulation, Secret Service agent John Henry arrested a trio of Buffalo nickel counterfeiters in a New York City tenement—Antonio di Giolano, Gennaro Biondi and Paolo Pontonieri. They were the first to make phony Buffalo nickels.

No change was made to the Buffalo nickel’s rough-hewn texture, but the Mint did address another problem. As they appeared on the first Buffalo nickel, the words “FIVE CENTS” on the reverse were especially subject to wear. The Mint changed the design to depict the bison standing on a plain instead of a mound, with “FIVE CENTS” more strongly engraved and better protected from friction.

Collectors classify the first Buffalo nickels as Variety 1, and the 1913 nickels with the bison standing on a plain as Variety 2.

Mint Director George Roberts gave his slant on the design change, in the April 4, 1914, issue of The Evening Argus:

“Mr. Roberts was surprised at the prominence that the newspapers of the country have given recently to the fact that a change has been made in the dies of the ‘Buffalo nickel.’

“‘The coin is slightly different now from what it was when it first appeared,’ said Director Roberts, taking two nickels that lay on his desk.

“‘This is the coin of the first issue that appeared last February [sic]. When it came out we saw that the outlines of the coin were not as distinct as they might be. Particularly the lettering in the words ‘Five Cents’ under the buffalo was a trifle hazy, and there were certain other places that were not clear cut.

“‘We were much pleased with the coin, and felt an indisposition to make any change, but at the same time we felt that some changes might be practical.

“‘So we set the die-cutters in the Mint to work making the lettering a little more distinct. You can see the difference if you look closely,’ he said, taking up the second of the coins. “‘All of the lettering is more clearly cut and even some of the lines in the buffalo and the background were brought out more distinctly.

“‘But this is not news, it is history, and I’m surprised that the papers should have taken it up at this time. The re-cutting of the dies was done in April, and the new coins have been coined ever since as you see them now.’”

Demand for Buffalo nickels was still heavy in 1914. The July 6, 1914, issue of The Milwaukee Journal reported, “Recently, to meet the emergency demanded by the issue of the ‘Buffalo’ nickel, the Mints turned the out at the rate of 1,444,000 a day.”

In March 1914, the scarcity of Buffalo nickels was blamed on a Los Angeles broker who was arrested for trying to corner the Buffalo nickel market.

At Joliet, inmates made counterfeit nickels in the prison machine shop.

Buffalo nickels were also attracting hobo artists. The July 17, 1914, issue of The Day, published in New London, Conn., reported:

“The owner of a Bank Street cash till got a Buffalo nickel between his thumb and forefinger which felt rough, and examined it closely to find that some artist had made an [ethnic caricature] of the Indian on one side of the coin. It did not take very much of an eye to find that a derby had been carved so that it poised on the back of the head and completely obliterated the Indian’s head feathers.

“An eyebrow of unmistakable proportions, full beard and a collar and necktie had been added by the artist, who defaced and at the same time refaced the coin.

“Whoever added the engraving to the coin violated the federal law, but it is said such infractions are common in New York, where Buffalo nickels are altered for a consideration, when the artist knows he is not doing business with a special agent of the Treasury Department.”

It was a good year for Buffalo nickel varieties, too. R.A. Medina of San Antonio, Texas, discovered the 1914/3 Buffalo nickel. It was verified in 1996. A 1914/3-S nickel turned up in 1997, and a 1914/3-D was found in 2000.

In October 1915, a counterfeit Buffalo nickel plant in New York City was raided.

Mint engraver Charles Barber made some minor changes to the Buffalo nickel design in 1916. The Philadelphia Mint struck an undetermined number of doubled-die nickels that year. Today there are an estimated 400-500 survivors. At a Bowers and Merena auction in April 2008, a Numismatic Guaranty Corp. certified Mint State-64 example realized $276,000.

The Buffalo nickel was still relatively new in 1916, but some young people were unfamiliar with its story. The Feb. 12, 1916, issue of the Eugene Register Guard suggested, “Read these questions at the family dinner table tonight, and see how they are answered. It is now exactly a school teacher’s list, but it was suggested by a school teacher’s list.” One of the questions was, “When did the Buffalo nickel come into use?”

However, some people hoarded Buffalo nickels from the beginning, even if it may have been on a small scale by today’s standards. The following item appeared in the Oct. 17, 1917, issue of The Deseret News:

“For years, Sam Reed, driver for the stage line, has been saving Buffalo nickels. He found that it was an easy way to get ahead, just to make it a rule to save every Buffalo nickel that came into his hands. Now he wishes he had chosen some other method.

“Last night a thief unscrewed the hinges on a store-room door in the basement of the Virginia Apartments, 416 East South Temple Street, and took the tobacco can which Reed had used as a savings bank. It contained $60 in nickels. Reed reported the loss to the police but so far the thief remains undiscovered.”

There was a severe shortage of Buffalo nickels in 1917. One factor in the shortage may have been the announcement of a planned monument to Buffalo Bill Cody, to be built with contributions of Buffalo nickels. In November 1917, however, Treasury officials proclaimed the nickel shortage at an end, thanks to overtime at the Mint.

The Mint was still a madhouse in the autumn of 1917 as workers made dies for 1917, and 1918-dated dies to be used in the coming year. The frantic pace may explain the striking of a small but undetermined quantity of 1918/7-D Buffalo nickels.

The discovery specimen made its first auction appearance in October 1931 at a sale held by Barney Bluestone of Syracuse, N.Y., although some collectors had known about it for years. The auction catalog described it as a “bold overdate, the only specimen known to exist at the present time.” It added:

“No collection is complete without this extreme rarity. This specimen is rarer than the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. It should realize a very high price as this piece is the rarest nickel known.”

Gradually, more examples came to light. Today probably several hundred 1918/7-D nickels are known. At the Bowers and Merena sale of the Richard Hennessy collection in August 2008, a 1918/7-D nickel realized $350,750.

It was also in 1918 that the New York Times reported a depiction of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was showing up on nickels. The police were said to be searching for distributors of the altered coins in Hoboken, N.J., where hobo nickels may have originated.

The same year, a Connecticut newspaper claimed the Buffalo nickel was becoming less popular and useful every day, and predicted it would be replaced by a six-cent coin.

More than 80 million nickels were struck in 1920, despite their declining purchasing power. Many of them were used in vending machines. An ad in The National Druggist said:

“Nickels! Nickels! Everywhere. Why not get your share? Mr. Storekeeper: Your patrons can’t buy very much for a nickel nowadays. The day of nickel cigars, nickel shows, etc., are a thing of the past. Yet your customers still have plenty of odd nickels, and they want to spend them. Why not give them the opportunity? The EZ-Ball Gum Machine is the champion nickel getter!

“Each ball of gum has a hole drilled through the center and a printed number inserted. Your patrons keep dropping in nickels until they get a reward number which gives them 10 cents to $2 in merchandise from your stock.”

The Ad-Lee Novelty Co., offered the machine, which was priced at $30.

Banks also found they could use nickels to make money. In 1920, a window display in the National City Bank of Chicago consisted of a cottage, with a path leading to it “paved” in nickels. The display inspired more than 300 people to open accounts at the bank. An article in The Bankers’ Magazine explained:

“That many a nickel makes a muckle was better illustrated by the nickels on the path leading to the cottage than by a half column of written argument. Everyone can save a nickel. The nickel idea had a further advantage in that it would not prove so costly to our bank as it would if paved with half dollars and sometime during the night an ‘enterprising burglar’ decided to clean up the path.”

Buffalo nickel production declined in the 1920s because of massive World War I mintages. No nickels were struck in 1922, the year the New Castle News reported the death of Black Diamond as a result of “wire in his hay.” It was also the year the Portsmouth Herald complained about the “hideous” Buffalo nickel, saying it was not an improvement over the old Liberty Head type.

Buffalo nickel production went on a roller coaster ride during the troubled 1930s. In 1931, nickels were struck only at the San Francisco Mint, which turned out a mere 1.2 million. The Numismatist reported the low mintage figure, and hoarding of 1931-S nickels was widespread.

Because of the Depression, no nickels were struck in 1932 or 1933, but production resumed in 1934 at the highest level since 1930.

At various locations in New York City from 1930 to 1936, a mysterious man who identified himself as “Mr. Glad” lifted spirits during the Depression. He handed out Buffalo nickels, food, coffee, sandwiches and gloves to anyone who needed them.

In 1935, authorities seized $250,000 in counterfeit nickels in a raid of an abandoned farmhouse in upstate New York. Five states had been flooded with the fake nickels.

The Denver Mint turned out nearly 18 million nickels in 1937. The 1937-D three-legged variety was created when a press operator used an emery stick too aggressively to remove clash marks from a reverse die. He wound up removing the bison’s right foreleg except for the stump and hoof.

C.F. “Cowboy” Franzen of Billings, Mont., reportedly discovered the three-legged nickel between 1937 and 1939.

In the final year of production, 1938, Buffalo nickels were struck only at the Denver Mint. Among the more than 7 million nickels struck that year were 1938-D/D and D/S varieties.

By the time the design gave way to the Jefferson nickel in late 1938, the Buffalo nickel had covered a lot of territory. Critics praised them or blasted them. Souvenir hunters hoarded them. Counterfeiters made fakes, and hobo artists transformed originals with imaginative engravings. At the U.S. Mint, engravers attempted a quick fix of the design, resulting in the first Buffalo nickel varieties.

When the dust cleared, one truth was still standing. The Buffalo nickel was, as the Chicago Tribune put it, an artistic coin—one that could never be mistaken for anything else.

Mintage Numbers Collapse
January 19, 2010

By Dave

Is this the year the Mint suspends the coinage of some denominations completely?

That is a question that needs to be asked in light of the collapse of production in 2009.

Overall production dropped by 65 percent last year, or 6,593,580,000 pieces from the 2008 level of 10,141,580,000.

The 3,548,000,000 total mintage from 2009 wouldn’t even be a reasonable number for cents from one facility alone in a normal year.

Collectors who grew up wondering things like why were no half dollars produced in the years 1930, 1931 and 1932, or no quarters in 1931 and 1933, now are seeing a replay of how a weak economy causes a rapid drop in the demand for coinage.

Economic statistics showed that retail sales dropped 6.5 percent last year, something not seen since the Depression.

Fewer transactions mean less demand for coins.

Throw in desperate people raiding every coin container they ever possessed just to try to keep food on the table and the combination adds up to a drastic fall in coin demand.

In 2009 the Mint tried to manage the production reductions at an even pace. Except for dimes, the Mint was remarkably able to divide what work there was evenly between the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.

The only high level of demand occurred for gold and silver coinage. Demand for those coins reflect fear of inflation and/or the unknown by buyers.

This, too, has a parallel in the high mintages of gold $10s and $20s during the Depression before President Roosevelt banned gold ownership in 1933.

The 4,463,000 mintage for the gold $10 in 1932, the record for the Saint-Gaudens Indian Head series, was caused by the same type of panicky demand for gold that we are seeing with American Eagles today.

This demand also is reflected to a lesser degree in the mintages of the 1931 and 1932 $20s.

Roosevelt after banning gold ownership to end the panic, devalued the dollar and tried to induce inflation. By this action he proved the hoarder’s fears to be justified, but persistent deflation rather than inflation dogged the economy.

Are we in a period of similar paradox where fear of inflation actually produces deflation?