1912-S 5c MS

Key to Collecting: With its enticingly small mintage figure of just 238,000 coins—far and away the lowest in the series to this point—and its status as the only San Francisco Mint coin of this design, the 1912-S has been popular since day one. In the marketplace, examples are usually either Mint State or well worn. Very few exist at intermediate levels such as Extremely Fine or About Uncirculated.

All examples seen have bulging in the obverse field and are somewhat lightly detailed (see below). Any sharp piece is likely an alteration from a Philadelphia Mint coin, made by adding an S. Such fakes used to be common in collecting circles, but today the leading grading services know how to spot one, and it is a virtual certainty that a certified coin is genuine.

Characteristics and Appearance: All authentic examples have lightness of details on Liberty’s hair above her forehead. On most (but not all) on the reverse, the corn ear to the left of the ribbon bow does not show the details of the kernels. However, some others have most kernels visible, but are light on the hair. No Full Details coins have been seen. Both the obverse and reverse field can be somewhat “mushy” and undulating (not flat), this being best seen by holding the coin at an angle to the light. Often, the left obverse field is bulged. Denticles, particularly on the obverse, can be softly struck, blending together in some areas. All 1912-S nickels show weakness; since multiple die pairs were used, this situation can be laid on the shoulders of the press technician, who spaced the dies ever too slightly far apart.

The luster is usually soft and somewhat “greasy,” not deeply frosty. Sometimes the luster is greasy on the portrait, but softly lustrous (not deeply frosty) in the fields. Overall, a 1912-S nickel is so distinctive that you can recognize this variety simply by looking at the obverse—no need to check for an S mintmark!

Mintage and Distribution Notes: At the San Francisco Mint in 1912, at least 11 obverse dies were on hand and 10 reverses. However, it seems that some dies remained unused, the reverses being destroyed not because they were unusable, but because the Liberty Head motif had been discontinued. Otherwise, it is likely that just a handful of reverses would have been destroyed, in addition to all of the dated obverses. In his Annual Report, Mint Director George E. Roberts stated that the average life of a die for the 1912-S coinage was 23,972 strikes.

He probably used the number of dies made and the total mintage and did some math, not knowing that not all of the dies were used. This theory seems to be borne out by the fact that 160 dies were made at the Philadelphia Mint for a coinage of more than 26 million pieces, which would figure to more than 160,000 coins per die. As noted under the 1912-D commentary, the coinage actually amounted to about 90,000 impressions per die.

One reverse die has the S directly opposite the punctuation dot and equidistant between the dot and the denticles; another has the S slightly right of center and slightly closer to the denticles. Still another has the S close to the dot, ever so slightly to the right of its center, and distant from the denticles.

With a mintage of just 238,000 circulation strikes, in terms of mintage for commerce the 1912-S handily outranks its two closest contenders—the 1885 (1,476,490) and the 1886 (3,326,000). However, in 1885 and 1886 such pieces were not saved as novelties, as collectors simply ordered Proofs, which were made to the extent of several thousand for each year.

I have always found Mint State 1912-S nickels to be more available in the marketplace than the higher-mintage 1912-D issues. In The Numismatist, November 1931, William Pukall, of Union City, New Jersey, offered for sale an Uncirculated 1912-D Liberty nickel for $1.25, while a 1912-S of the same grade cost $1. I recall that in the 1950’s, it was not unusual to encounter 1912-S nickels in small groups in dealers’ stocks, but that this was not true of 1912-D nickels.

While the certification-service data show more Mint State 1912-D coins graded than 1912-S, the ratio is less than 2 to 1. For the 1912-D series, there were 8,474,000 nickels coined, so the mathematical ratio is 36 to 1—clearly an ample verification of the saving of Mint State coins in their era.

Coinage of the 1912-S nickel commenced on December 24, 1912, and lasted just four days.

On December 30, San Francisco Mayor James S. (“Sunny Jim”) Rolph Jr. used one of the first-struck coins, provided by Acting Treasurer of the U.S. Sub-Treasury Thomas P. Burns, to launch the city’s first electric streetcar. In fact, it was the first in the nation that was owned by a municipality rather than a traction company (as they were called).7 As part of the inaugural event, trolley cars filled with civil officials went up Geary Street to the St. Francis Hotel, with a crowd estimated at 50,000 watching the proceedings.

An early advertisement for this particular coin appeared in The Numismatist, November 1913, and was placed by Burton Fraser, located in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco. In circus style, the headline included “Nickels. 1912 San Francisco Mint 1912,” with the tagline in boldface type: “The first nickels ever coined in the San Francisco Mint and the last of the Lady’s Head design.” The accompanying text noted the following: “Nickels were made in the San Francisco Mint for the first time December 24, 1912, and were coined but four days. No dealer in the U.S. has any. Strictly Uncirculated specimens 25¢ each. Supply limited. Burton Fraser, 768 Ninth St., Oakland, Cal.”

Not much is known about Fraser. If he was a dealer, his business must have been modest. The strong claim that “no dealer in the U.S. has any” seems to reflect a knowledge of the market.

This particular issue has been the subject of a fair amount of numismatic attention. In Mehl’s Numismatic Monthly, January 1916, the editor commented:

From this we learn that Mehl had at least one 1912-S—with six die cracks—in his personal collection, although the implication is that he had several. Similar to many other dealers, Mehl often acquired examples as novelties in this series, and then sold them when the passion faded.