Liberty Head Nickel was first struck for circulation in early 1883. The first 5.4 million pieces struck contained the Roman numeral V on the reverse, but did not contain the word "CENTS". Con artists quickly noted this, as well as the fact that the coin was roughly the same size as a five-dollar gold coin, and began gold-plating the new Liberty Nickels and attempting to pass them as gold pieces. The Mint decided to add the word "CENTS" to the reverse design of the Liberty Head Nickel in the spring of 1883. The Liberty Head Nickel, or "V" Nickel was minted from 1883 - 1912 with five coins minted in 1913. The composition of these coins is 75% copper and 25% nickel. The Liberty Head Nickel was minted at the Philadelphia mint, and for one year only in 1912, at the Denver and San Francisco mint.
