1883 No Cents USA Nickel Very Fine (VF20)

1883 Var. 1 No Cents USA Nickel Very Fine (VF-20)

On the first type of Liberty Head nickels that were produced using Charles Barber's new design, the coins were minted without the word "cents", and with a large Roman Numeral V. This caused confusion among the public, leading some to mistake the nickel for a five dollar coin, so some aspiring entrepreneurs took these coins and plated them in gold to pass them off as such. This led to the 1883 nickel being known as the "racketeer nickels". Soon after, the design was corrected and the word "cents" was added to the coin.

Obverse: Liberty head facing left with the date below and 13 stars representing the original 13 colonies around.
Reverse: Denomination in Roman Numerals within a wreath, legend around.

Specifications:
Engraver: Charles Edward Barber
Composition: Copper-nickel
Weight: 5 g
Diameter: 21.2 mm
Edge: Plain
Die Axis: ↑↓
Mint: United States Mint of Philadelphia, United States
Mintage: 5,474,300