The Finest Known 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is for Sale
Tuesday December 5, 2006
I always get excited when important coins go up for auction. I'm not sure if it's the thrill of watching the millionaires competing against each other, or just the thought of someone new getting to claim title to a dazzling treasure, but whatever the draw for me, it's a thrill!The Eliasberg Specimen of the legendary 1913 Liberty Head Nickel will go up for auction during Stack's Rare Coins prestigious Orlando Sale on January 2, 2007, in Orlando, Florida. Assigned the Lot Number 1599, the Eliasberg Specimen is the finest known of the five 1913 Liberty Head Nickels in existance. It has been graded Proof-66 by both PCGS and NGC, and is currently holdered in PCGS capsule number 999999-001. The coin is expected to fetch well over $3 million, and there is even speculation that it just might surpass the record for the most money ever paid for a coin, $7.6 million for the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. While I think exceeding $5 million is unlikely, you just never know when it comes to these top-notch rarities. The type tripled in price in just over 10 years (from $1 million in 1992 to $3 million in 2003) so numbers like $5 and $7.6 million don't seem too unrealistic.
I saw this specimen once. It was being exhibited at the Long Beach Coin Expo in Southern California, (a sizeable semiannual coin show.) At the time, I was very much into ancient coins, but I remember standing in the long line to have my turn on the little podium, under the watchful eye of two armed guards. I walked around the little dais, looking at the coin, and thinking, "What makes this little 5-cent disk of cupro-nickel metal so incredibly valuable?" (Back then, it was being billed as the Million Dollar Nickel or something similar.) The answer, of course, is hype. And of all coins ever promoted, the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is almost certainly the most hyped coin in history. Learn more about the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel.
Photo of the Eliasberg Specimen of the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel courtesy of Stack's Rare Coins, New York City.
Comments
i have a 1850 liberty head and on the back it says one cents. Could this be the sixth coin?
Dear Sir
I have one coin 1913y liberty Buffalo Nickel.5 cent.
i want to sell. how can it.i have no
idea. please give me full information
Thanks
Manohar
India
Someone please help! As a little girl I remember many of the coins show here.I lost contact with my Dad and he is gone, and so are his remains and monies and coins his first name was Phil. he lived in B’klyn NY. He lived in City Line. Please anyone knowing about this help!! lee_fwlr@yahoo.com thank you I love this site brings back many many good times
My friend has a 1913 v-nickel that looks exactly like the pictures and everything, currently (may 7, 2009). but we don’t know if it’s real b/c we don’t have the money to authenticate it yet. Who knows, it might be the 6th one.