The Eliasberg 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, one of only five ever produced, will be auctioned by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in August. “The other four 1913 Liberty Head Nickels have gone on to private collectors and museums, including the Smithsonian,” explained Stack’s Bowers, in a statement.
Named for Louis E. Eliasberg Sr., the banker and famed coin collector who bought it in 1948, the nickel will be auctioned at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money, which runs from Aug. 14 to 18 at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center.
The nickel comes from the family of Dr. William Morton-Smith, who Stack’s Bowers describes as an “old-time collector” of coins.
Rare coins are big business. Earlier this year, a small $5 gold coin produced by the San Francisco Mint during the height of the California Gold Rush was estimated to be worth “millions of dollars.” The coin’s owner had initially thought that the money was fake.
More about:
