Posted 02/11/2013 08:32 am
found this in an article on about.com
Quote:
Not much is known about the actual minting of the 1913 Liberty Head Nickels. It is believed that five specimens were struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia sometime between the Summer of 1912 and early February of 1913. One theory says that the coins were struck as advance test pieces around July of 1912, with the expectation that the series would continue the following year anyway. Another theory proposes that someone was burning the midnight oil at the Mint, and struck the five specimens before the dies were destroyed in preparation for the change to the Buffalo nickel, which began production in late February of 1913.
Whichever theory you subscribe to, it's clear that the coins left the Mint in some unauthorized fashion, and indeed, no word of them surfaced at all until 1920, after the statute of limitations for theft had safely run out. Apparently, U.S. Treasury officials have concluded that they were legally struck, since they've never been confiscated like the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles were.
Not much is known about the actual minting of the 1913 Liberty Head Nickels. It is believed that five specimens were struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia sometime between the Summer of 1912 and early February of 1913. One theory says that the coins were struck as advance test pieces around July of 1912, with the expectation that the series would continue the following year anyway. Another theory proposes that someone was burning the midnight oil at the Mint, and struck the five specimens before the dies were destroyed in preparation for the change to the Buffalo nickel, which began production in late February of 1913.
Whichever theory you subscribe to, it's clear that the coins left the Mint in some unauthorized fashion, and indeed, no word of them surfaced at all until 1920, after the statute of limitations for theft had safely run out. Apparently, U.S. Treasury officials have concluded that they were legally struck, since they've never been confiscated like the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles were.
