Was the 1883 "Pure Nickel" Liberty Head Nickel design intended for production?

Zoins

I love designs that indicate the composition of the piece. Here's the Charles Barber Liberty Head Nickel saying "PURE NICKEL" on the reverse. One thing I've been curious about is whether this design was actually designed to be struck for circulation or was it a test reverse for evaluating the metal internally.

Here's the Simpson Judd-1706 specimen, which interestingly, is made of aluminum.

Note: Apparently, this and related patterns were crated at the request of Joseph Wharton. More information, including his nickel So-Called Dollar is below.

Zoins

I found the following and now think this design was part of a set and never intended to be released.

The following exist in the listed compositions:

• 100% Nickel
• 75% Nickel, 25% Copper
• 50% Nickel, 50% Copper
• 33% Nickel: 67% Copper

These are all from Simpson's collection:

• https://www.pcgs.com/cert/40274621
• https://www.pcgs.com/cert/40323417
• https://www.pcgs.com/cert/40276868
• https://www.pcgs.com/cert/40323418

These all have updated TrueViews, but I was able to find the earlier TrueView for the 50/50 coin. Like the aluminum specimen in the OP, it seems like these photos originally had lit fields and there's been a movement to dark fields.

pcgscacgold

Now that would be a cool set to own. Neat that they marked each with metal composition since all look about the same to the eye (well at least my eye).

Zoins

@pcgscacgold said:
Now that would be a cool set to own. Neat that they marked each with metal composition since all look about the same to the eye (well at least my eye).

I agree it's interesting they look pretty much the same. The one with the least nickel is actually mostly copper at: 67% copper and just 33% nickel.

I collect Civil War Tokens and I have a few that are Copper-Nickel like this one. It's not as red as full copper but definitely more copper looking than a nickel coin. I'm surprised the pattern above doesn't look more like this (granted this is MS vs. Proof) and has me wondering what the composition of Copper-Nickel Civil War Tokens is.

Here's a more "coppery" looking looking 67% copper piece:

pcgscacgold

@Zoins said:

@pcgscacgold said:
Now that would be a cool set to own. Neat that they marked each with metal composition since all look about the same to the eye (well at least my eye).

I agree it's interesting they look pretty much the same. The one with the least nickel is actually mostly copper at: 67% copper and just 33% nickel.

I collect Civil War Tokens and I have a few that are Copper-Nickel like this one. It's not as red as full copper but definitely more copper looking than a nickel coin. I'm surprised the pattern above doesn't look more like this (granted this is MS vs. Proof) and has me wondering what the composition of Copper-Nickel Civil War Tokens is.

Maybe in hand they look a little different but from the TV's I would not be able to tell the pure nickel from the others with copper. Your token looks like there is some copper in there. It is what I would expect the others to look like.

Zoins

@pcgscacgold said:

@Zoins said:

@pcgscacgold said:
Now that would be a cool set to own. Neat that they marked each with metal composition since all look about the same to the eye (well at least my eye).

I agree it's interesting they look pretty much the same. The one with the least nickel is actually mostly copper at: 67% copper and just 33% nickel.

I collect Civil War Tokens and I have a few that are Copper-Nickel like this one. It's not as red as full copper but definitely more copper looking than a nickel coin. I'm surprised the pattern above doesn't look more like this (granted this is MS vs. Proof) and has me wondering what the composition of Copper-Nickel Civil War Tokens is.

Maybe in hand they look a little different but from the TV's I would not be able to tell the pure nickel from the others with copper. Your token looks like there is some copper in there. It is what I would expect the others to look like.

I agree the proof nickel patterns look very close in color. I'm guessing that's one thing the Mint was trying to experiment with, to see how much copper they could use without changing the color too much.

I went looking for the composition of Civil War Tokens, but found the composition for US small cents. Here's a proof Flying Eagle Cent which is 88% copper and 12% nickel. It looks more reddish than my Civil War Token.

pcgscacgold

@Zoins said:

@pcgscacgold said:

@Zoins said:

@pcgscacgold said:
Now that would be a cool set to own. Neat that they marked each with metal composition since all look about the same to the eye (well at least my eye).

I agree it's interesting they look pretty much the same. The one with the least nickel is actually mostly copper at: 67% copper and just 33% nickel.

I collect Civil War Tokens and I have a few that are Copper-Nickel like this one. It's not as red as full copper but definitely more copper looking than a nickel coin. I'm surprised the pattern above doesn't look more like this (granted this is MS vs. Proof) and has me wondering what the composition of Copper-Nickel Civil War Tokens is.

Maybe in hand they look a little different but from the TV's I would not be able to tell the pure nickel from the others with copper. Your token looks like there is some copper in there. It is what I would expect the others to look like.

I agree the proof nickel patterns look very close in color. I'm guessing that's one thing the Mint was trying to experiment with, to see how much copper they could use without changing the color too much.

Here's a proof Flying Eagle Cent which is 88% copper and 12% nickel. It looks more reddish than my Civil War Token.

That is my favorite Cent design. If I ever collected copper that would have been the series.

Instead it is Pre-33 gold and Daniel Carr items for me.

Zoins

The interesting thing is that the nickels before and after these 1883 patterns are of the same composition:

• 75% copper
• 25% nickel

So it seems:

• The Mint was trying to see what the coin would be like with more nickel, not less
• No change was ultimately done between the Shield Nickel and Liberty Head Nickel

I wonder why they were testing this, and why ultimately no change was made. Was there a nickel lobby trying to increase the use of nickel?

Here are two proofs to compare:

Zoins

After Simpson, I've been wondering who are the pattern collectors now.

I just found out that Mitch @wondercoin has a great Liberty Head Nickel pattern collection!

Just thought it was worth mentioning

https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-patterns/specialty-sets/liberty-head-nickel-patterns-1881-1883/alltimeset/16704

Zoins

@pcgscacgold said:
Now that would be a cool set to own. Neat that they marked each with metal composition since all look about the same to the eye (well at least my eye).

According to USPatterns.com, aside from the "Pure Nickel" specimen, all the others may actually have been struck from the standard 75/25 copper/nickel composition. I wonder if anyone is interested in testing this theory. It would have been great to have some tests done with Simpson's collection as he had all of them.

https://uspatterns.stores.yahoo.net/185ceniset.html

USPatterns.com wrote:
1885 5 Cent Nickel Set

This year saw the Mint supposedly test different alloys of nickel & copper using a single obverse and 4 reverse dies as shown below courtesy of PCGS J1704/P1908, J1707/P1911, J1710/P1914 and J1712/P1916.

Other than the pure nickel coin which is magnetic, it is not known if the other alloys described on the reverses were actually used when striking the coins. It is likely that they were struck using standard nickel alloy which is 25% nickel and 75% Copper.

Calling Andy @MrEureka

Any info on this and why the Mint was testing compositions with more nickel?

MarkKelley

It was a Joseph Wharton thing. He owned nickel mines and had friends in Washington. He was trying to create a larger market for his metal and a pure nickel 5-cent piece was a great way to do it. Politics were a much smaller thing back then.

Zoins

@MarkKelley said:
It was a Joseph Wharton thing. He owned nickel mines and had friends in Washington. He was trying to create a larger market for his metal and a pure nickel 5-cent piece was a great way to do it. Politics were a much smaller thing back then.

I'm glad you mentioned it! I was just looking him up!

Here's some info from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wharton#Nickel_manufacture

Wikipedia authors wrote:
Nickel manufacture

Hoping to profit from the use of nickel in coins, Wharton in 1863 sold his interest in zinc and started the manufacture of nickel at Camden, New Jersey, taking over a nickel mine and refining works at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. The Camden plant was located on the east side of 10th Street, adjacent to Cooper Creek, and had several large brick buildings and smokestacks. Wharton renamed the Camden plant the American Nickel Works, and his office there became his center of operations. However, the use of nickel in coinage was temporarily halted, and soon the Camden plant burned. Wharton rebuilt it in 1868 and made excellent profits from producing nickel because it became favored for coinage. Wharton won wide acclaim for his malleable nickel, the first in the world, and also for nickel magnets, and received the Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition of 1878. His factory produced the only nickel in the US and a significant fraction of the world supply. Eventually, the surface deposits at the Gap mine were depleted and Wharton was obliged to purchase nickel ore from a mine in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. This experience was a challenge to Wharton, who learned about market economics and protection when foreign nickel manufacturers opposed his nickel purchasing and manufacture efforts. Wharton by then had learned the value of meeting personally with his managers and regularly inspecting the mines and manufacturing plants with them. He was successful because he worked hard to increase efficiency and profitability of the businesses he acquired, and energetically pursued markets for his products. Wharton made a robust profit from his nickel business over its 40-year duration, but by 1900 its outlook was fading due to foreign competition. Wharton and a group of other United States and Canadian nickel enterprises formed the International Nickel Company (Inco) in 1902. He sold his American Nickel Works in Camden and the Gap mine for a share in the new company, and was named one of the dozen board members. By this time the profitability of his business empire did not depend on the manufacture of nickel because he had already diversified into other profitable businesses.

Zoins

A great thing about Joseph Wharton and coins is that he issued a So-Called Dollar from the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, cataloged as HK-323.

Mike @illini420 has a nice specimen of this:

ricko

That is a great set of nickels.... A real treasure for a collector. Thanks for showing them and the history. Cheers, RickO

Zoins

Here's Joseph Wharton's So-Called Dollar with an original box.

Photos courtesy of Steinmetz Coins and Currency (sccyorkpa)