What is a 1883 racketeer nickel worth?

Answer 1

Racketeer nickels are dated 1883. They were created when crooks realized that the new Liberty Head design only had the Roman numeral V (= 5) on the back but not the word CENTS. The coins were almost identical in size to $5 gold pieces so "racketeers" plated them and passed them off as "brand new $5 gold coins". Fortunately the Mint responded by quickly changing the design to add the word CENTS.

If your coin is dated 1903 it has CENTS on the back so it's not a Racketeer nickel. It's just an ordinary nickel that was plated for use in jewelry or something similar. Unfortunately that makes it an altered coin with very little value.

Answer 2

The coin is actually gold-plated rather than gold. If the coin can be shown to be a "genuine" racketeer nickel rather than a modern fake it might retail for $40 to $50 depending on condition.

An Explanation

When the Mint released the new Liberty Head nickel design in 1883 the only indication of its denomination was the large Roman numeral "V" (= 5) on the reverse. Crooks ("racketeers", in the slang of the time) immediately took advantage of the lack of the word "cents" and the coin's similarity in size to $5 gold pieces. They'd score the coins' edges to simulate reeding, plate them with gold, and pass them off as a "brand new design".

The Mint quickly fixed the problem by adding the word "cents" to the reverse side, but plenty of plated "no-cents" nickels were already in circulation. The situation soon took on a cachet of its own and racketeer nickels became collectors' items in their own right even if they couldn't be spent.

In later years that collectability led to a secondary industry of finding existing unplated no-cents nickels, plating themand passing them off as if they had been originally altered in 1883. Many of these coins are easy to identify because they became very worn before being plated, whereas "genuine" racketeer nickels were made when the coins were new and sharply defined. The existence of these later coins represents one of the few cases where a fake coin has itself been counterfeited!

Answer 3

I dont know thats why I m here

Answer 4

A true "racketeer" nickel is dated 1883.