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Nickles
The Five-Cent coin was first authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, that was passed by Congress. However, this coin was known as a Half Dime and was struck in silver until 1873. In 1866, the U.S. Mint introduced a new type of Five-Cent coin – a larger coin struck in .750 copper and .250 nickel that soon became known as a Nickel. As a result, between 1866 and 1873, there were two different types of Five-Cent coins in circulation, the Silver Half Dime and the Nickel.
The first Nickel in 1866 was the Shield Nickel. The obverse of this coin features a shield, while the reverse shows the denomination. In 1883, the Liberty Head Nickel was struck for the first time. The reverse of the first coins in 1883 had a large “V” (Roman “5”) but no notation of the word “Cents.” Crooks gold-plated some of these coins and tried to pass them off as $5 gold coins, which were about the same size. The U.S. Mint quickly added the word “Cents” under the “V” read more
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