1887 Liberty Head "V" Nickel

The story of the 1887

Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1887: 15,263,652 coins, about 4.6 times the 1886 run. The next year it made 11 million (1888).

No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1887 you find is from Philadelphia.

Philadelphia struck the Liberty Head "V" Nickel in 32 issues between 1883 and 1913. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1913 (5). Within the 1880s it's 6th smallest of 8, between the 1884 (11 million) and the 1889 (16 million).

Steady circulation years (1887 to 1899)

Production recovered in 1887 to more than 15 million and stayed between roughly 10 and 17 million through most of the next several years. The depression that followed the Panic of 1893 cut 1894 output to 5.4 million, making it a scarcer date for the decade. By 1899 production rose above 26 million as the economy grew again.

These dates form the middle of the series and are usually found worn to Good or Very Good, since Liberty Head nickels stayed in circulation for decades. Wear first shows on the letters of LIBERTY on the coronet and on the hair above the forehead, so collectors use those spots to grade them. Proofs were made every year, so some lower grade coins are worn proofs. Strikes vary from year to year, with weak corn ears at the left of the wreath a common flaw.

Collectors judge Liberty nickels of these years by the coronet. LIBERTY should be readable in every letter on a Fine coin and in better grades the hair curls above the forehead keep their detail. Proofs were struck every year for collectors and survive in good numbers, so a coin with mirror-like fields is worth checking against a proof before you assume it is a circulation strike.