1901

On September 6, 1901, Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, as McKinley was shaking hands with visitors at the Temple of Music. McKinley lingered for eight days before dying on September 14, and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the twenty-sixth president that afternoon in Buffalo. Philadelphia struck 26,478,228 Liberty Head nickels during 1901, maintaining the high-volume production pattern established in 1899 and 1900, and the coins produced that autumn circulated through a country transitioning from the McKinley era to the Roosevelt presidency that would reshape American federal policy through the next seven years.

The coin is common at every grade level. Circulated examples are abundant, Mint State pieces are routinely available, and Gem-quality 1901 nickels exist in adequate numbers for collectors and specialists. No major varieties or die states command premium attention, and the 1901 is a typical high-mintage regular-issue date.

For Liberty Head collectors, the year holds no particular challenge and is often acquired early in the process of building a date set. The affordability at all grade levels makes it a reliable purchase and a common entry in type coin sets where the design matters more than the specific year. Specialists may note that 1901 coins occasionally show slightly softer strike characteristics on the reverse wreath compared to 1900, though the difference is subtle and not universally observed across die states. Well-struck examples with sharp corn ear detail command modest premiums for collectors building Gem-grade sets focused on strike quality.