• The Liberty Head nickel, sometimes referred to as the V nickel due to its reverse (or tails) design, was an American five-cent piece. It was struck for circulation from 1883 until 1912. • It had not been thought necessary to inscribe the word "cents" on the nickel; the silver and copper-nickel three-cent pieces had circulated for years with only a Roman numeral to indicate the denomination. Enterprising fraudsters soon realized that the new nickel was close in diameter to that of the five-dollar gold piece, and if the new coin was gold-plated, it might be passed for five dollars. They soon did so, and had success in passing the coin. Some coins were given a reeded edge by the fraudsters, to make them appear more like the gold coins. The plating of the nickels caused consternation at the Mint, and brought production of Liberty Head nickels to a sudden stop. Barber was told to modify his design, which he did, moving other design elements to accommodate the word "cents" at the bottom of the reverse design. The revised nickel was issued on June 26, 1883 • Mint directors, in their annual reports, had long called for the authority to strike cents and nickels at branch mints, which was forbidden by Congress. In 1912, nickels were coined for the first time at each of the two branch mints and the first and last 1912 D Liberty Nickel was struck. The design was changed in 1913 to the now famous Buffalo Nickel |