More Nickel Trivia!

Good one! As a Mod, I'm going to stand clear even though I know the answer. Shouldn't take long, though.

See? Told you it wouldn't take long.

Technically, though, Samuel Brown hinted that he had them in a December 1919 issue of The Numismatist, when he advertised his willingness to buy any extant 1913 Liberty nickels. That was the first public announcement that such a strike existed. Knowing as we do in hindsight that he was at least part of the chain and probably the prime mover (as a Mint employee at the time of their striking), this was likely a way of covering his actual possession of them at the time of the ad.

It should be noted that the striking of these Nickels violated no rule of the Mint at the time.