Coin Value | US Racketeer Nickel 1883

US Racketeer Nickel 1883

Date: 1883	Mint mark: not apparent	Size: medium
Description: Do you have any information on what appears to be a gold 1883 Liberty Head nickel.The back side does not quite match up with any other image. The main difference being 'e plurabus unum' on the bottom of the wreath, as well as it being what appears to be gold ?
Composition: gold	Wear: well preserved	Eye appeal: likable
Country: US	Denomination: not specified	Holder: not specified

[Request 11868 received from Mary, Wednesday, 18-Jul-2012]

Well that's cool, Mary. You have what coin collectors call a Racketeer Nickel. Unscrupulous fellows back in 1883 found the newly issued Liberty V nickels in pocket change, gold plated them, and tried to pass them as $5 gold pieces. Not a bad mark-up, I'd say. Of course they were worth only a nickel.

Soon the US government wised up and placed the word CENTS on the coin, a small detail they had overlooked at first.

Anyone can make a racketeer nickel out of an 1883 'no cents' nickel by gold plating it. If you can find one actually from 1883, and can somehow prove it comes from that time, collectors might be willing to pay a large premium. Maybe $50 or so. The tough part is proving that you have a coin from a real racketeer, not a modern wanna-be!

See our page on normal Liberty V nickels at this link.