The 1899 Liberty Head nickel is a classic and popular memento from the fascinating turn-of-the-20th-century era. America was changing from a rural agricultural society to an urban industrial economy. Factories and assembly plants were employing more and more Americans, giving people pocket money to enjoy many new forms of entertainment. Nickelodeon theaters, coin-operated music devices, candy and gum dispensers, and other vending machines most often required a nickel to operate.