Granite State Philatelist Disses Liberty Nickel

Q. David Bowers recently contributed to Newman Portal a scan of the March, 1883 issue of the Granite State Philatelist. Philatelic publications, especially from this period, contain occasional numismatic content, and this is a typical example, which includes a few comments regarding the recently released Liberty nickel. While commending the new design, the writer points out the absence of the motto In God We Trust, noting “surely the motto of our forefathers is good enough for us.” The articles goes on to discuss the “racketeer” nickel, a creation of “sharpers” who thinly coated 1883 No Cents Liberty nickels with gold and passed them off as five-dollar gold pieces. The writer suggests that the 1883 No Cents pieces will either be recalled or saved as collector’s items, and will no doubt “command a high price” in the future. Quite the opposite happened! So many were saved that today the 1883 With Cents issue is the more highly prized of the two, while the No Cents example is by far the most inexpensive coin in the series in EF-AU grades.Link to Granite State Philatelist on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/580737