The 1896 Liberty Head nickel is not a great rarity. It is, however, one of the last better Liberty Head nickel dates and it also tells us a great deal about collecting during the period. That makes it an interesting coin to own and to study.
Coin collecting was having trouble in 1896 simply because the nation's economy was having trouble. The impact of the Panic of 1893 was still being felt, and people were simply not feeling comfortable spending what little money they had on coin collecting.
Full Article: Hard Economic Times Hurt Nickel's Chances - NumisMaster
