1866 5C Shield Nickel Rays PCGS MS65

Product Description

An 1866 (With Rays) Shield Nickel graded Mint State 65 (MS-65) by PCGS. This piece displays an original vibrant white nickel luster with some toning on the reverse, very nice pinwheeling and excellent details. The total mintage for this date & mint: 14,742,500. Please view our photos for additional information and ask any questions prior to purchase.

The five cent Shield Nickel was a five cent piece minted from 1866-1883. The Shield Nickel set precedents for modern day nickels, such as becoming the first five cent piece to be comprised of copper nickel. Furthermore, it was the first United States five cent piece to be referred to as a ‘nickel’ based on its composition. The Shield Nickels designer, John B. Longacre, based his design off of his previous design for the two cent copper piece. Longacre, known for his plain yet difficult to strike designs was forced to reconfigure the pattern on the reverse because of its difficulty to be minted. This caused several errors and varieties during both the early and later years of this pieces mintage. Collectors will note the 1866 & 1867 Shield Nickels have rays around the number ‘5’ on the reverse while later coins dropped the rays and were left with the original 13 stars representing the original 13 colonies. The parameters set for this piece were as follows: .750 copper, .250 nickel, a total weight of 5 grams, and featured a plain edge with a 20.5 mm diameter. All pieces are void of mintmarks because of strictly being minted at Philadelphia only.