1912 Liberty Head Nickel Proof : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The year 1912 was the end of the line for Charles E. Barber’s nickel design. Barber borrowed heavily from George T. Morgan’s silver dollar portrait and continued James Barton Longacre’s use of Roman numerals to denote the coin’s value. Much ado was made regarding the omission of the word “cents” from the coin. Longacre’s Shield Nickel design of 1866-1883 displayed the word, but his Three-Cent Silver and Three-Cent Nickel coins did not. The Liberty Head Half Eagle, for which the coin was supposedly mistaken after being gold plated by fraudsters, was wider, heavier, and had a reeded edge. But perhaps we are being too hard on 19th-century Americans, as the literacy rate was much lower then, and the American monetary system was much more fluid than the one we are accustomed to today.

The modified Liberty Head Nickel design was introduced within months of the coin’s initial release and Proof strikings of the design without and with the word CENTS was carried out so that collectors could have both if they so chose. The design was produced during a period of strong interest in coin collecting and Proof mintages exceeded 1,400 annually (frequently more than 2,000).

For the 1912 Liberty Head Nickel Proof, the Philadelphia Mint struck 2,145 examples for that year’s minor Proof Sets, along with the Matte Finish 1912 Lincoln Cent Proof. Philadelphia’s engraving department prepared five obverse dies and four reverse dies to strike the coin, but no markers differentiating different obverse or reverse dies have been identified to date.

Most 1912 Liberty Head Nickel Proofs are brilliant but typically lack deep mirrors. Only a small number exhibit cameo frost on their devices, among the first few dozen impressions from freshly prepared dies. All nickels tone, so “black-and-white” cameo nickels are quite rare; more typical are examples with cameo subdued under a layer of colorful toning.

How Much Is the 1912 Liberty Head Nickel Proof Worth?

The 1912 Liberty Head Nickel Proof carries a range of values, starting at about $325 for a Choice Proof and rising to $10,000 or more for the finest known examples. A small percentage of the existing population of coins exhibits cameo frost, and generally, high-grade coins with Deep Cameo/Ultra Cameo designations are worth more than those with a lesser degree of frost. However, in the case of the 1912 Liberty Head Nickel Proof, Deep Cameo/Ultra Cameo coins are so few (only two, both NGC PF66UCAM) that they are graded well under the finest known brilliant Proofs and Cameo Proofs – Cameo Proofs being the vanguard of the market for this date.

The three major grading services (CACG, NGC, and PCGS) have combined to certify over 1,300 of the issue’s 2,145 total mintage. Even if 10% of this total includes crossovers and regrades, it means that more coins may be out there. When Gloria Peters and Cynthia Mohon published The Complete Guide to Shield and Liberty Head Nickels in 1995, only 563 Proof 1912 Liberty Head Nickels had been certified – with none at the Proof 67 grade level. Through November 2024, more than 100 examples have earned that grade.

Were all the best coins hiding in 1995? Or, more likely, has the standard for Superb Gem Proof Liberty Head Nickels evolved over time?

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS PR67+CAM (1, 11/2024), NGC PF67+CAM (3, 11/2024), and CAC PR67DCAM (10:0 stickered:graded, 11/2024).

• PCGS PR68 #36182913: Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2019, Lot 4221 – $17,400. Iridescent gold, apricot, and purple toning.
• NGC PF68 #1883907-001: Heritage Auctions, July 7, 2017, Lot 3534 – $4,230.
• NGC PF67+CAM #6700261-001: Heritage Auctions, August 13, 2024, Lot 3036 – $8,400.
• NGC PF67CAM CAC #1726847-006: Heritage Auctions, May 2003, Lot 5590 – $4,920; Heritage Auctions, July 2004, Lot 5494 – $3,680; Heritage Auctions, September 2012, Lot 3663 – $3,095; Heritage Auctions, August 2015, Lot 3503 – $3,055; “The Robert J. Lynch Collection,” Heritage Auctions, November 20, 2024, Lot 3094 – View.
• PCGS PR67CAM #34674856: The Groman Collection; Heritage auctions, February 9, 2023, Lot 3041 – $6,600. Groman Collection on insert.
• PCGS PR67CAM CAC #42610179: Stack’s Bowers, November 22, 2021, Lot 1243 – $9,300.
• NGC PF67CAM #6056053-001: Heritage Auctions, April 22, 2021, Lot 3294 – $4,560.
• PCGS PR67CAM CAC #29431780: “The High Rose Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, August 1, 2017, Lot 333 – $4,465.
• PCGS PR67CAM CAC #25236614: As NGC PF67 #400161-002. “The Clifford Columbus Collection,” Heritage Auctions, June 2005, Lot 5610 – $2,530. As NGC PF67CAM #1939315-002. Heritage Auctions, February 2006, Lot 569 – $5,175. CAMEO designation added. As PCGS PR67CAM CAC #25236614. Heritage Auctions, February 26, 2015, Lot 3036 – $4,465. Crossed to PCGS, CAC added.
• PCGS PR67CAM #07921687: Heritage Auctions, April 26, 2006, Lot 1025 – $6,325. Pop four when offered; “The Troy Wiseman Collection,” Heritage Auctions, September 13, 2006, Lot 972 – $5,462.50. Troy Wiseman Collection on insert.

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Design

Obverse:

A somewhat matronly Liberty faces left, hair swept back and tied in a bun, with a few stray curls dropping down the back of the neck. On her head is a coronet inscribed with the word LIBERTY, with wheat and cotton clustered at its base. A circle of 13 six-pointed stars is placed inside the denticulated rim, and the date is at the bottom.

Reverse:

A prominent Roman numeral V is located in the center of the reverse, surrounded by a small circle of two arcs of cotton and corn, tied at the bottom with a ribbon and separated at the top. Inside the denticulated rim is a concentric circle of the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the top and sides, the word CENTS at the bottom, and two interpuncts, one centered on each side of CENTS. Above the wreath is the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. On the With Cents type, the motto has been moved from its more prominent position below the wreath.

Edge:

The edge of the Liberty Head Nickel is plain or smooth, without reeding or lettering.

1912 Liberty Head Nickel Proof Coin Specifications

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