The coin above is the original Liberty V Nickel, one of the coins in my grandpa's pocket purse. It was officially minted from 1883 to 1912. This particular coin was one of the first minted, and has a unique history.

The V nickel was supposed to be part of a series, including a two cent piece and a three cent piece. The designers were ambitious, using Roman Numerals to signify denominations. The two and three cent pieces were dropped from plans, and only the "V" was produced. The quantity, "V," or five, was prominent. They forgot one small detail.

They forgot to put the word "Cents" on the coin!

Some unscrupulous entrepreneurs (criminals) immediately noticed the discrepancy. They started gold plating them, and passing them off as five dollar gold pieces!

This is where legend kicks in. One of the main perpetrators was a deaf-mute man, Josh Tatum. Law enforcement couldn't prosecute Josh, though. Why? Because he never told a merchant it was a gold piece! He would buy something worth less than a nickel, and gave the merchant a gold plated V Nickel. It was up to the merchant as to whether they thought it was a five dollar gold piece! Josh would take whatever he got! Genius.

Whether Josh was real or not, is a matter of debate. But his name is supposed to have given birth to the phrase, "I'm just Joshin' ya!"

It only took a couple of months before the U.S. mint realized they had screwed up. And they fixed it. Yes, they came to their "centses."

Also...

Lau wanted to know what a billfold looks like! This is mine. And it's actually a trifold. But you get the idea.

TG