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1913 Liberty Head nickel with storied history sells for more than $3.1 million
RICHMOND, Va. – Four Virginia siblings who never let a rare 5-cent piece slip through their fingers, even when it was declared a fake, have been rewarded for their devotion to a humble family heirloom after the century-old coin sold for more than $3.1 million.
The 1913 Liberty Head nickel, one of only five known to exist, was sold to two bidders for $3.17 million at an auction Thursday night in suburban Chicago.
The children of the late Melva Givens of Salem will divide $2.7 million, before taxes.
While pleased with the price, which topped the pre-sale estimate by Heritage Auctions of $2.5 million, Givens’ children said Friday it was a bittersweet parting of a coin that never should have been minted and has an improbable history.
“I guess I still feel kind of sad about it and I’ll probably feel that way for a while,” said Ryan Givens, 66, who attended the auction with two siblings. “It’s been in the family for so long.”
The nickel was minted surreptitiously, discovered in a car wreck that killed its owner and forgotten in a closet for decades after it was pronounced a fake.
The coin was struck at the Philadelphia mint in late 1912, the final year of the Liberty nickel, but with the year 1913 cast on its face — the same year the beloved Buffalo Head nickel was introduced.
http://www.startribune.com/nation/204842961.html
2013-04-26 14:45:14
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