Trying to determine which 1913 Liberty Nickel is which
dbldie55
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The Newman Numismatic Portal has invoices from Burdette G. Johnson, which includes 4 of the 5 1913 Liberty Nickels (Newman kept the best example, which ended up in the Eliasberg collection)
Of these, one went to F.C.C. Boyd. This is the coin that Farouk had and is the Norweb coin (currently in the Smithsonian). This coin sold for $1,000 and I think was considered the second finest.
This coin is listed on an invoice dated April 22 1943: 1913 U.S. 5c NICKEL. Liberty Head Proof $1000.00
The other 3 all went to James Kelly for $750 each. I have 3 different invoices for these transactions and wonder if there is any way to tie these to the specific coins.
1) March 11th 1943: 1913 U.S. 5c NICKEL. Liberty Head Proof $750.00
2) March 11th 1943: 1913 U.S. 5c NICKEL. Liberty Head Proof $750.00 (this invoice also includes 3 Gobrecht dollars, 2 1851 proof dollars and 3 1878 CC 1/2 dollars.
3) March 17th 1943: 1913 U.S. 5c NICKEL. Liberty Head Uncirculated with proof surface $750.00
I wonder which one may have been considered uncirculated with proof surfaces? (I am guessing this is the McDermott coin)
The other two would be the Olsen (currently graded NGC PF64, still in the PCGS pop reports as a PR64) and the Walton (currently in a PCGS PR63 grade, but in the Walton holder)
Would be nice to tie an invoice to a specific coin. Any ideas?
Comments
Good luck with that.
Well, they do come with two different finishes. (The dies were probably polished a bit more in the middle of the 5 coin production run, presumably because the first coins didn't look so great.) So if you make the reasonable assumption that the one described as "uncirculated with proof surfaces" is one of the one's with the less-mirrored surfaces, things may fall into place. On the other hand, if one of the other two coins purchased by Kelly has similarly less-mirrored surfaces, it's back to the drawing board.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
"As part of the six-person authentication team studying all five 1913 Liberty nickels, Dannreuther compared the existing reverse detail on each coin. The key location is the bottom of the wreath, including the ribbon bow and the two ears of corn. The photographic evidence is more difficult to place in order than the actual coins, but clearly the Smithsonian, Olsen, and Eliasberg coins were struck before the Walton and McDermott coins. Dannreuther concluded that the Smithsonian coin was first, followed in order by the Olsen, Eliasberg, Walton, and McDermott specimens."
Thank you for the post on the order. I was going to go back to the book and find this. Makes you wonder how all of them looked back when Newman acquired them. He valued the Eliasberg coin the highest, followed by the Norweb.