US Coins

This Proof Cameo 'V-nickel' is among the finest known

The height of summertime is typically slow for the rare coin market as dealers take a well-deserved break in July and prepare for the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in early August.

Online auctions keep things moving, however, and with weekly auctions by GreatCollections, along with online auction offerings from several firms including Stack’s Bowers Galleries, Legend Rare Coin Galleries, David Lawrence and Heritage, collectors are never too far from buying opportunities.

Here is one of three coins sold in recent online auctions that we're profiling in this week's Market Analysis:

The Lot:

1893 Liberty Head 5-cent coin, Proof 67+ Cameo, CAC

The Price:

$3,190

The Story:

In last month’s survey of the least attractive U.S. coins, published in the August Coin World monthly issue, a few collectors picked a small coin designed by Charles Barber as a particularly dull product of the U.S. Mint: the Liberty Head 5-cent piece, or as it’s sometimes called, the “V-nickel.”

The type shows best in Cameo Proof, where frosted devices contrast with deeply mirrored fields.

What is the value of your Liberty Head 5-cent coin? Coin Values tells you.

However, late 19th century copper-nickel coins are seen with Cameo and Deep/Ultra Cameo designations far less frequently than their silver counterparts. This 1893 Liberty Head 5-cent piece graded Proof 67+ Cameo by PCGS with a green CAC sticker is among the finest known. Nine bidders chased it to the $3,190 that it brought at a July 17 GreatCollections online auction.

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Keep reading this summer online auction Market Analysis:


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