All That Glitters Is Not Gold!

By David W. Boitnott

In the early 1880's Josh Tatum, a deaf mute, traveled the countryside visiting country stores along the way. He would select an item priced less than five cents and place it on the counter with a single coin. If the storekeeper picked up the coin and give Josh change for a nickel he would simply nod and quietly leave. If the storekeeper instead returned change for a five-dollar gold piece Josh would also just simply nod and quietly leave. Strange and puzzling behavior indeed, what possible explanation could be at the root of it?

Well it was 1883 and the United States had just introduced a new five-cent coin or nickel. What was to become known as the Liberty Head Nickel to numismatists of the future debuted replacing the shield nickel which was then current. Designed by Charles Barber the new nickel featured the head of Miss Liberty facing left on the obverse with thirteen stars and the date around the periphery and the word Liberty in her coronet. The reverse design featured "United States of America" around the upper periphery and the motto "E Pluribus Unum" around the lower periphery. The center of the reverse design was dominated by a large roman numeral "V" surrounded by a wreath. There was one small omission on the design - no denomination or value!

Charles Barber and mint officials did not see this as a problem as the coin was clearly not struck in silver, nowhere near the same size as any U.S. silver coin and had a plain edge, not a reeded one as silver coins did. The thought of it being passed as a gold piece was probably the farthest thought from their minds. If the fact that the head of Miss Liberty differed significantly from the one on the then current half eagle or five-dollar gold piece, the fact the reverse did not have an eagle as all United States half eagles did should have been enough to prevent misidentification. The color of the copper-nickel alloy was no where near gold so there was no reason for people to think it a new gold piece. But, what they did not count on was the unscrupulous among the population.

Many, like Josh, were gold plating them and some even went as far as to cut reeds into the edge to further enhance the trickery. They then attempted to pass them as five-dollar gold pieces to unsuspecting store clerks. Complaints about this growing scam quickly made their way back to Washington and then to the Mint in Philadelphia precipitating a quick redesign modifying the reverse to include the denomination or value of five cents. This modified design came out latter in 1883 giving collectors two varieties of Liberty Head Nickels to collect from this first year of issue. Some would argue that there are three varieties when the unofficial "Racketeer Nickels" are included.

As for our friend Josh, he was eventually arrested and tried. His defense was based on the fact that he never claimed they were gold half-eagles and simply accepted what ever change was returned without question or argument. His physical handicap prevented any of his victims from disputing this; he was incapable of speech. The courts eventually found him not guilty. Others were not as lucky, but the evidence from their crimes makes interesting footnotes of history and collectibles for us today.

If interested in obtaining a "Racketeer Nickel" for your collection be warned that most offered today are modern plating jobs. A good rule of thumb is if the coin is much worse than XF and has good complete gold plating it is probably a later plating. Original ones were done in 1883 when the coins were first issued so little wear would have been present. Additionally the gold plating was usually a thin wash that would have worn off rapidly had the coin seen subsequent circulation.

But even a modern "reproduction" makes an interesting display when contrasted against an unplated 1883 "no-cent" nickel. One never knows when the opportunity to acquire an interesting example of American history like this might present itself. I wouldn't even be surprised in a nice modern example of a "Racketeer Nickel" along with a "No-Cent" 1883 nickel in a custom capital holder was one of the raffle prizes at our November meeting.

Honest, I wouldn't Josh you now would I.......