1903 Liberty Head Nickel (V)

Philadelphia delivered 28,004,935 Liberty Head nickels in 1903, continuing the high-mintage pattern that had characterized production since 1899. The coin is common at every grade level. Circulated examples are abundant, Mint State pieces are available through normal collector channels, and Gem-quality 1903 nickels exist in adequate numbers for specialist collectors.

The Wright brothers made the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, with Orville Wright piloting the Flyer for 12 seconds and 120 feet into a 27-mile-per-hour wind. The brothers had been working on the problem for four years in the back of their Dayton, Ohio bicycle shop, funding the effort from the shop's profits. The longest flight that day was Wilbur's fourth attempt, which covered 852 feet in 59 seconds before nosing into the sand. The nickels in the brothers' pockets were quite possibly 1903-dated coins just beginning to enter circulation, struck at the Philadelphia Mint during the same months the brothers were running final trials at Kitty Hawk.

The 1903 is one of the most affordable Liberty Head dates in high grades and serves well as a type coin or as an early acquisition in a complete date set. Specialists studying 1903 die states note the typical late-period Liberty Head characteristics: slight obverse detail wear on the highest points of Liberty's hair and coronet, with reverse wreath definition varying from die to die. Well-struck examples command modest premiums, but the coin's general availability keeps prices manageable even at the top of the grade scale.