1866-1883 Shield Nickel Coin Guide
The 1868 Shield Nickel (Buy on eBay) was produced in quantity at the Philadelphia Mint only. The mintage was 28,817,000 coins, representing the second highest Shield Nickel mintage in the series. Coin Specifications
The 1867 Shield Nickel (Buy on eBay) was the second issue of the new series of five cent pieces. An alteration to the reverse design took place during the year, removing the rays between the stars. Thus coins are found “with rays” and with “no rays.” There were 2,019,000 of the 1867 Shield Nickel “with […]
The 1866 Shield Nickel (Buy on eBay) was the first year of issue for the new five cent denomination struck in a composition of copper and nickel. There were 14,742,500 coins struck for circulation with an estimated 600 proof pieces produced. Some circulation strike coins exhibit a repunched date and carry a premium, particularly for […]
The 1880 Shield Nickel (Buy on eBay) is the well-known key date of the series and one of the rarest circulation strike nickels ever produced. There was a scant mintage of only 16,000 pieces and attrition from circulation was high, leaving very few surviving examples. The total number of surviving circulation strikes has been estimated […]
The 1877 and 1878 Proof Shield Nickels (Buy on eBay) are two issues of the series which were struck in proof format only. By this time, economic uncertainties had eased and silver coins began to circulate once again. With large numbers of previously hoarded coins re-entering circulation, there was little need to produce new coins […]