Talking Points

When is a nickel worth $2.5 million?

A 1913 Liberty Head nickel, one of only five known to exist, is expected to bring $2.5 million to its Virginia owners when it is auctioned off in Chicago in late April. The five coins were illegally cast by a Philadelphia mint official in the year that the Indian Head, or Buffalo nickel, replaced the Liberty Head. The official then waited seven years, until the statute of limitations rendered him safe, to sell the coins. The nickel being auctioned had become separated from the others and was only verified as authentic in recent years.