DIGGER27
In Memory Of
Not my find but one of the most interesting coin stories and its history.
An 1883 V nickel, first year issue which has become known by the name "racketeer" nickel.
Many know about counterfeit coins and have found some and this has been going on just about as long as money has been in use.
Because these type of coins have been more on the rare side for most they are one of the kind of finds that we still highly treasure...because to us they are treasure.
Some are well known, do a search and look up the interesting story of the Henning nickel, a coin that is still possible to find and high on my bucket list.
Over on Findmall recently a member Mkus found something way cool with a story I have never heard before.
Not only a rare coin but it has a direct relationship to a well known term in our language.
He is not a member here but I just had to post this on the forum to let even more people know about this stellar find
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?91,2396564,page=1
Here is the coin...
Here is the story...
"Just joshing you" came from the late 1800's and has a very interesting story behind it!
Josh Tatum was a deaf mute, but a very enterprising young man from the Midwest. In 1883 the US Mint came out with a new nickel. It was deemed the Liberty Head Nickel and on the reverse side had a large roman numeral V stamped on it. The new nickel did not have the word "cents" or "nickel" stamped on it. Josh Tatum noticed this and the fact that it was nearly the same size as the US $5.00 gold piece, which at the time was used as common currency.
With the help of a friend familiar in gold electroplating base metal, they turned these coins into a figurative gold mine. Tatum went from town to town going into shops, stores & mercantiles. He was very careful not to purchase anything that cost more than a nickel, where he would hand over one of these gold plated nickels. The clerk would accept the coin, and in most instances give Josh back $4.95 in change, which he happily would take. By the time law enforcement caught up to him, he had visited hundreds of towns & had amassed a small fortune.
The Law prosecuted him but ironically he was found not guilty on the most serious charges, because he only purchased items that totaled 5 cents, and because he was deaf & could not speak he never represented that it was a new $5.00 gold piece.
The same year, the US mint added the word "cents" to the Liberty Head Nickel in an effort to bring this type of fraud to a halt.
Hence the famous saying "you're not Joshing me are you"?
Now according to the dictionary the word Josh actually goes back to about 1845
"To tease someone in a playful way", so this story might not be true...but it is still fun to think it is.
This guy was one of the more famous con artists that did this so I have to believe that word and saying became more mainstream after his story became known.
Hope I come across one of these one day.
http://coinsite.com/the-1883-racketeer-nickel/
An 1883 V nickel, first year issue which has become known by the name "racketeer" nickel.
Many know about counterfeit coins and have found some and this has been going on just about as long as money has been in use.
Because these type of coins have been more on the rare side for most they are one of the kind of finds that we still highly treasure...because to us they are treasure.
Some are well known, do a search and look up the interesting story of the Henning nickel, a coin that is still possible to find and high on my bucket list.
Over on Findmall recently a member Mkus found something way cool with a story I have never heard before.
Not only a rare coin but it has a direct relationship to a well known term in our language.
He is not a member here but I just had to post this on the forum to let even more people know about this stellar find
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?91,2396564,page=1
Here is the coin...
Here is the story...
"Just joshing you" came from the late 1800's and has a very interesting story behind it!
Josh Tatum was a deaf mute, but a very enterprising young man from the Midwest. In 1883 the US Mint came out with a new nickel. It was deemed the Liberty Head Nickel and on the reverse side had a large roman numeral V stamped on it. The new nickel did not have the word "cents" or "nickel" stamped on it. Josh Tatum noticed this and the fact that it was nearly the same size as the US $5.00 gold piece, which at the time was used as common currency.
With the help of a friend familiar in gold electroplating base metal, they turned these coins into a figurative gold mine. Tatum went from town to town going into shops, stores & mercantiles. He was very careful not to purchase anything that cost more than a nickel, where he would hand over one of these gold plated nickels. The clerk would accept the coin, and in most instances give Josh back $4.95 in change, which he happily would take. By the time law enforcement caught up to him, he had visited hundreds of towns & had amassed a small fortune.
The Law prosecuted him but ironically he was found not guilty on the most serious charges, because he only purchased items that totaled 5 cents, and because he was deaf & could not speak he never represented that it was a new $5.00 gold piece.
The same year, the US mint added the word "cents" to the Liberty Head Nickel in an effort to bring this type of fraud to a halt.
Hence the famous saying "you're not Joshing me are you"?
Now according to the dictionary the word Josh actually goes back to about 1845
"To tease someone in a playful way", so this story might not be true...but it is still fun to think it is.
This guy was one of the more famous con artists that did this so I have to believe that word and saying became more mainstream after his story became known.
Hope I come across one of these one day.
http://coinsite.com/the-1883-racketeer-nickel/
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