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The Incredible 1913 Liberty Head Nickel!
This week, we bring you a historical perspective on the 1913 Liberty Head nickels from coin industry icon Q. David Bowers: A Remarkable Display In the waning days of July and the beginning day of August in Baltimore all eyes will be focused on rare coins. Not just any rare coins, but especially on the rarity of rarities, the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. Just five pieces were struck, and of these only four are confirmed to exist today. Incredibly, all four of these will be displayed together‹the first time in more than a half century this has happened! The fame of the 1913 nickel is such that when the writer displayed a specimen in 1975, all by itself in an exhibit case at the American Numismatic Association Convention held that year in Los Angeles, a long line of people formed to see and pay their respects to it! Before and after that time, even a single 1913 Liberty Head nickel has been a drawing card of the highest order. But all four all at once! Incredible! From whence the fame of the coin? A Rarity is Created The story goes back to 1913. Early in that year it was decided to replace the familiar Liberty Head nickel, in circulation since 1883, with a new design, popularly called the "Buffalo" nickel, featuring on the obverse an Indian or Native American, and on the reverse a buffalo (more properly a bison in terms of zoology). In time, such Buffalo nickels were made by the millions, and were produced for many years thereafter. However, very early in the year, when dies had been prepared for a 1913-dated Liberty Head nickel, perhaps anticipating a large coinage that never materialized, a handful of pieces, believed to be just five, were struck. The circumstances were not recorded, and the mystery of the 1913 Liberty Head nickel began! It seems that the person involved was Samuel W. Brown, an established coin collector who lived in Philadelphia and worked at the Mint. Or, perhaps someone else was involved. In any event, when the nickels first became known to the collecting community, it was Samuel W. Brown who had them. The time was 1919, and Brown had moved from Philadelphia to North Tonawanda, New York, a town near Niagara Falls, where he was recognized as an important citizen and at one time also served as mayor. Either he already had all five Liberty Head nickels, or he had heard of them and wanted to acquire them, but whatever the reason, he advertised in the December 1919 issue of The Numismatist to pay $500 each for any such coins. In January 1920 he raised the ante to $600. If he owned them, this was a good publicity stunt. If he didn¹t own them, his campaign was successful (various people in the Treasury Department, including at the Mint, received The Numismatist and no doubt saw the notice). Whatever the circumstances, and we will probably never know them, in August 1920 he startled the collecting community by displaying all five pieces, nicely fitted in a leather case! Not even the most experienced collectors and dealers had ever seen such pieces before. Millionaire Col. Green In time, all five 1913 Liberty Head nickels were sold as a group to Col. E.H.R. Green, eccentric son of millionairess Hetty Green, popularly known as the "Witch of Wall Street." Mrs. Green, from New Jersey, lived in simple circumstances while amassing a fortune of untold millions of dollars made in the stock market. Her son Ned (E.H.R.) walked with a limp for all of his life, for as a youth his mother did not want to spend money on medical attention for him. After his mother passed away, Col. Green, as he became known, released all inhibitions and spent vast sums on his hobbies and interests. In time he could proudly point to such "collectibles" as an authentic railroad in Texas, antique whaling ships at harbor in Massachusetts, his own radio station, and a vast collection of coins. On the stamp collecting scene, he owned all 100 of the famous 1918 "Jenny invert" postage stamps (with a 24-cent air mail stamp, with a Curtis Jenny flying upside down‹the sheet had been fed into the press incorrectly during the final printing stage). Today, this sheet of 100 stamps has been long since broken apart, and individual examples are worth up to a couple hundred thousand dollars each. A Surprise for Eric Newman Col. Green's 1913 Liberty Head nickels were a prized possession, and they remained with him until he died in 1936. Afterward, the Green estate was handled by the Chase National Bank, New York City. As circumstances would have it, in St. Louis young Eric P. Newman, a numismatist and up-and-coming lawyer, desired to buy a piece of St. Louis currency from the Green estate, and wrote to inquire. For several years numismatists had been endeavoring to get hold of the treasures in the Green collection, but their approaches must not have been right, or the bank wasn¹t ready, or there may have been other reasons, for all were rebuffed. Whatever the circumstances, Eric Newman's inquiry arrived at the right time, and the response he received was startling: No, the single St. Louis bill was not for sale by itself, but a group of bills, including the St. Louis note, could be purchased! He went to his local friend, coin dealer Burdette G. Johnson, and sought advice and financing. Over a period of time several shipments of coins and paper money were purchased from the Green estate. Then the 1913 Liberty Head nickels became available. What were they worth? There were few clues to be had, as none had ever sold openly on the market. It was the tail end of the Depression, and rarities were not in as much demand as they had been in the Roaring '20s, but still, this was an amazing opportunity. An offer of $500 each was made for two, but all five had to be purchased, so $333.33 each was suggested for the others, bringing the total price to $2,000.00. A deal was struck! Today, the same group would be worth on the far side of $10 million! Eric Newman's emphasis was on older issues such as American colonial coins, paper money, and numismatic history, and Liberty Head nickels, dated 1913 or otherwise, were not among his specialties. Accordingly, one by one he dispersed of them, including until they were all gone, the last being sold to Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., of Baltimore in 1948. (Eric P. Newman, now 92 years of age and still an enthusiastic numismatist, plans to attend the Baltimore coin show in July.) But we are getting ahead of the story. Nationwide Focus on the 1913 Nickel! Times were difficult in the 1930s, and the term, "Brother, can you spare a dime?" had true meaning. Few people had two dimes, or two nickels either, to rub together! At the same time, the hobby of coin collecting was alive and well, never mind that great rarities might have been selling for reduced prices. A grass roots interest had arisen, along with other hobbies (such as jigsaw puzzles, miniature golf, and crossword puzzles, and attending movies), and all was well. Perhaps the most active of all rare coin dealers was B. Max Mehl, who held forth in business from an elaborate office in Fort Worth, Texas. Mehl handled many great rarities, including the famous 1804 silver dollar, fondly called "The King of American Coins." However, try as he might, he had never been able to buy a 1913 Liberty Head nickel! Mehl was an enterprising sort of man, and along with buying, selling, and auctioning great collections, he also published a popular guide, the Star Rare Coin Encyclopedia. This volume, well over 100 pages in length, illustrated coins from colonial times to modern, and gave the prices he would pay. Special focus in his advertising was given to the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. If you were lucky enough to find one, send it to Mehl and a handsome check would come by return mail! During the Depression Mehl spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising in Sunday newspapers and even with his own radio program. First and foremost, the 1913 Liberty Head nickel was in the limelight. It is said that all over America, streetcars slowed down and schedules were missed as conductors looked through incoming nickels hoping to find a prize 1913 Liberty Head! The fame of the piece grew. As fortune would have it, it was not until November 7, 1944, when Mehl auctioned the collection of Fred E. Olsen, that he was able to personally handle a 1913 Liberty Head nickel. By that time the Texas dealer was toward the end of his career. He lived until 1957, then went to his final reward. By this time, just about every aware person in the United States of America knew that the 1913 Liberty Head nickel was the great rarity! A Million-Dollar Mystery As the years passed, the five 1913 Liberty Head nickels went from here to there, always highly prized. One landed in the collection of King Farouk of Cairo, Egypt. After Farouk was ousted from the throne in 1952 by a military junta, his holdings were put up for sale. The auction took place in 1954. His 1913 Liberty Head nickel became a prized part of the collection of Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb of Cleveland. In 1977 the present writer did the appraisal of the coin, then valued well into six figures, after which it was donated to the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution, where it remains as a centerpiece today. Another piece went to J.V. McDermott, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a coin dealer who in essence built his life around this 1913 Liberty Head nickel, in the 1950s carrying it as part of his pocket change, to pull out at a restaurant or bar to proudly display, stating it was worth a small fortune. Finally, he was persuaded to put it into a small plastic holder, which he did, by which time the piece had become somewhat worn. In 1967 this specimen was sold by his widow, and brought the then record price of $46,000 at auction. The purchasers were Aubrey and Adeline Bebee, who donated it to the American Numismatic Association Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where it remains today. Another example passed through several hands and was owned by R.J. Reynolds, a member of the tobacco family of North Carolina. The piece may have been lost in a car wreck, or perhaps it remains undiscovered in some hidden away place today, but no one knows. This is the great million-dollar mystery, a treasure that either no longer exists, or perhaps will come to light to surprise and result in a fortune for its lucky owner! That leaves two pieces accounted for in private hands, one being the Eliasberg specimen catalogued by the writer in 1996 and sold for $1,485,000, far and away a record price at the time. The other, the piece earlier exhibited at the 1975 ANA Convention, is a proud possession of Laura Sperber and her firm, Legend Numismatics. In July at the ANA Convention, these four remaining great stars of numismatic fame, the only known 1913 Liberty Head nickels, will all come together in a marvelous galaxy that will be forever remembered! More About the Coin Show in Baltimore The American Numismatic Association Convention will begin on Wednesday, July 30, at 9:00 a.m. in the Baltimore Convention Center, and will run through Sunday, August 3 until 2:00 p.m. It is open daily to the public, free of charge. Hundreds of dealers will be on hand to buy and sell coins, and thousands of collectors will come to enjoy the proceedings. Among the events, on Friday afternoon, Q. David Bowers will be giving a presentation on the numismatic lore and legend attached to the city of Baltimore. More than any other city in the United States, Baltimore has been home to famous coin collectors and great rarities, including of course the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. Dave will relate stories, anecdotes, and other interesting information about these legendary numismatists, and some of the treasures they acquired. |
