The 1883 "Racketeer" Nickel
Arizona Coin Collector
My mom has a lot of the Liberty Head (V nickels).
The next time I see her, I will check the reverse
side of the coins.
I like the story below about "Racketeer" Nickel.
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FROM:
http://www.coinsite.com/content/faq/RacketeerNickel.asp
The 1883 "Racketeer" Nickel
In 1883 the Mint issued a new 5c coin with the head
of Liberty and a Roman "V" meaning "5" on the
reverse. Many people thought that the coin was an
error since in didn't have "cents" anywhere on the
coin.
(Photo Image Link)
http://www.coinsite.com/images/vnickel.gif
The lack of the word cents created an opportunity for
the unscrupulous. The coins were gold plated and
reeds were cut into the edge by hand (nickels have
a plain edge) and they were passed off as $5 gold
coins.
The most famous criminal case about altered 5 cent
coins involved a deaf mute named Josh Tatum. He
would go to cigar stands and purchase a 5c cigar
and pay with a gold plated, hand reeded nickel. The
attendant would assume that it was a $5 gold piece
and give Josh $4.95 change. He was acquitted since
he never said that the coin was $5, he couldn't.
The Mint had learned its lesson and the following
year put the word "cents" at the bottom of the
reverse.
Some of these "Racketeer" nickels survive today
and are interesting to collectors. Over the last
century, there are many nickels that have been
gilt and passed off as the "real" thing so beware
of "copies". Its not easy to ascertain whether
you have a "genuine" racketeer nickel as they are
all altered coins tampered with outside the Mint.
Generally, the ones used in 1883 have some or all
of the gilt rubbed off and have a very carefully
reeded edge.
..
Peter Irwin
>
> The most famous criminal case about altered 5 cent
> coins involved a deaf mute named Josh Tatum. He
> would go to cigar stands and purchase a 5c cigar
Does anyone have a reference for the Josh Tatum story
predating Walter Breen?
> Generally, the ones used in 1883 have some or all
> of the gilt rubbed off and have a very carefully
> reeded edge.
I bought a holed example from a 75 cent junk box which
matches this discription. It is kind of fun. The gold
plating in the reeds is intact, but near half the gold
is gone from the surfaces.
Peter.
--
pir...@ktb.net
>
>
Frank Provasek
>
> Does anyone have a reference for the Josh Tatum story
> predating Walter Breen?
>
Breen referred to it as "reportedly," but the first known appearance
was
in a coin column by Maurice Gould in the Long Beach Independent Press-
Telegram
in 1965.
--
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Peter Irwin
> On Dec 9, 10:00?pm, Peter Irwin <pir...@ktb.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> Does anyone have a reference for the Josh Tatum story
>>
> Breen referred to it as "reportedly," but the first known appearance
> was
> in a coin column by Maurice Gould in the Long Beach Independent Press-
> Telegram
> in 1965.
>
It is a frequently repeated story now, but I remembered reading
about doubts about its historicity.
Peter.
--
pir...@ktb.net
Frank Provasek
I was searching the New York Times archive, and interestingly there
ARE stories of these
coins being plated and passed as $5 gold coins:
Isti Mirant Stella
The article says the nickels were "washed." Is that word being used in the
same sense as so many European billon coins that had a "silver wash"?
Peter Irwin
>
>> pir...@ktb.net
> I was searching the New York Times archive, and interestingly there
> ARE stories of these
> coins being plated and passed as $5 gold coins:
>
> www.frankcoins.com/1883nick4.jpg
I've got no doubts about the general racketeer nickel story.
The Josh Tatum story, as usually told, appears to involve very
bad law. While judges can make very strange decisions from time
to time, it is difficult to imaging one buying a "the defendant
never said it was a five dollar piece" defense. If there is a
clear intention of fraud (and it does appear clear in the story)
then that defense should have gone nowhere.
Peter.
--
pir...@ktb.net