1904 Liberty Head Nickel (V)

Mint records show 21,403,167 Liberty Head nickels for 1904, down from 1903 but still a substantial production run by any measure. The coin is common at every grade level and readily available in Mint State. Circulated examples carry minimal premiums over face value, and Gem-quality pieces are routinely available to specialist collectors at modest prices.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis on April 30, 1904, running through December 1 and drawing nearly twenty million visitors. The fair commemorated the centennial of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and introduced Americans to items that would become everyday features of twentieth-century life: the ice cream cone, iced tea served commercially, and the first large-scale exhibition of electric lighting on a fairgrounds scale. The Mint issued a separate Louisiana Purchase Exposition commemorative gold dollar for the fair without modifying the regular nickel coinage, and Liberty Head nickels moved through the fair's turnstiles and refreshment counters as part of routine small-change commerce during the eight months the exposition was open.

The 1904 does not pose unusual challenges for date-set builders and can be acquired early in the collecting process. Strike quality shows the expected late-1890s Liberty Head pattern, with the lower-left corn ear remaining the consistent strike diagnostic. The substantial mintage ensures abundant supply at every grade level, and the coin is among the most accessible Liberty Head dates for collectors at any budget level.