Extremely Rare Philadelphia Nickel Could Auction for Millions

The business of coin collecting, properly called numismatics (there’s your word of the day!), is one that has attracted people for almost as long as there has been tangible money to trade and collect. It is possibly the oldest hobby of collection, according to experts, and it attracts collectors of all ages, classes, and walks of life. Every once in a great while a coin comes along that is so fantastic, so rare and special that it grabs the attention of the whole public, and not just coin collectors. Such a specimen, a very valuable nickel that’s over 100 years old, is going up for auction in Philadelphia, and it is expected to fetch a seven-figure sum.

The Eliasberg 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is one of only five ever minted, making it exceedingly rare. It will go up for auction August 15th at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money, which is a massive convention for coin collectors. The Fair will be held It is being sold off by Stack’s Bowers Galleries. Per an AP article, “The coin is named for financier Louis E. Eliasberg, who bought the coin in 1948 and amassed one of the greatest coin collections in U.S. history.” It’s believed the nickel will go for $3 million to $5 million!

Along with the nickel, which is the star attraction of the auction, a sizeable collection of vintage U.S. paper money will also take its place on the block. The total value of the collection is estimated to be around $900,000. Included in the lot is the Joel R. Anderson Collection, which include 1880s certificates for $500 and $1,000 in silver.

From CoinWeek.com:

“[The five nickels were part of a set until] 1936 when they were sold as part of the estate of noted New York coin collector “Colonel” E.H.R. Green. It was at this sale that Eric P. Newman and his mentor, St. Louis coin dealer Burdette G. Johnson, purchased the 1913 Liberty Head nickels and split the set.

Their paths now divergent, each of the coins has accrued illustrious pedigrees–the names by which they have come to be known: Olsen, Norweb, McDermott, Walton and Eliasberg. Books can and have been written about these coins. Two are currently in institutional hands: one at the Smithsonian (Norweb) and one at the ANA Money Museum (McDermott); the other three are in (well-heeled) private hands.

Of those three collectible examples, two are Proofs (Olsen and Eliasberg).”