United States 1885 5 cents
This specimen was lot 342 in Scotsman's Midwest Summer Sale (St. Louis, July 2012), where it sold for $____. The catalog description noted, "1885 PCGS PF-65. Pedigreed to the Teich Family Collection. Contrary to popular misconception, the 1885 nickels in both commercial strike and proof format tend to show nice production quality. The obverse of this GEM proof provides obvious cameo contrast, while devices on the reverse are not as well frosted, limiting contrast on that side. Lead-grey patina generates an interesting variation on the usual brilliance. A single near-vertical contact mark is nearly hidden above the ear, while the reverse displays a number of exceedingly small planchet laminations on the reverse lower left." Other than the clandestinely produced 1913, this is the key date among Liberty Nickels.
Recorded mintage: 1,476,490 including 3,790 proofs.
Specification: 5 g, copper-nickel, 21.2 mm diameter, plain edge, designed by Charles Barber.
Catalog reference: KM 112.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Garcia, James, and Jay Woodside, The Midwest Summer Sale, St Louis, MO: Scotsman Auction Co., 2012.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
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