1879 Shield Nickel

The Shield Nickel began production in 1866. Mint Director James Pollock wanted an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel to replace the five-cent fractional currency note. The half dime was still around, but like other silver coins, had trouble staying in circulation.

The Shield Nickel proved to be acceptable with the public. Mintages during 1879-1881 were very low because the Mint shifted resources in support of silver dollar production.

1879 Shield Nickel


Coin Photos courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

1879 Shield Nickel (VG-8 Condition)

The 1879 Shield Nickel, blue line above, is one of 87 coins tracked in our Rare Coin Values Index. The Index score, graphed by the red line, is the overall score of the 87 coins combined. As you can see, the 1879 Shield Nickel rates below the Index performance. We gather data monthly to update the Index.

Members of the Rare Coin Values Index
Date	Coin Type	Grade	Est. Retail Value Jan 2012
1793	Liberty Cap Left Half Cent	G-4	4500
1802 2/0 Rev 1802	Draped Bust Half Cent	G-4	1000
1793 Chain AMERI.	Flowing Hair Large Cent	G-4	12500
1794 Starred Rev	Liberty Cap Large Cent	G-4	17500
1799	Draped Bust Large Cent	G-4	3500
1856	Flying Eagle Cent	G-4	7000
1877	Indian Head Cent	G-4	850
1909-S VDB	Lincoln Cent	G-4	750
1914-D	Lincoln Cent	G-4	225
1922-D (No D)	Lincoln Cent	G-4	700
1864 Small Motto	Two Cent	F-12	400
1865	Three Cent Silver	PF-65	1500
1884	Three Cent Nickel	F-12	650
1795	Flowing Hair Half Dime	G-4	1200
1797	Draped Bust, Small Eagle Half Dime	G-4	1400
1800	Draped Bust, Large Eagle Half Dime	G-4	950
1865	Seated Liberty Half Dime	G-4	325
1879	Shield Nickel	VG-8	550
1885	Liberty Nickel	VG-8	750
1913-S Type 2	Buffalo Nickel	G-4	350
1918/7-D	Buffalo Nickel	G-4	1300
1937-D 3 Legs	Buffalo Nickel	G-4	625
1796	Draped Bust Dime	G-4	3000
1822	Capped Bust Dime	G-4	1500
1871-CC	Seated Liberty Dime	G-4	2000
1895-O	Barber Dime	G-4	375
1916-D	Mercury Dime	VG-8	1500
1942/1-D	Mercury Dime	VG-8	650
1875-CC	Twenty Cent	G-4	425
1796	Draped Bust, Small Eagle Quarter	G-4	12500
1804	Draped Bust, Large Eagle Quarter	G-4	4500
1823	Capped Bust Quarter	G-4	40000
1870-CC	Seated Liberty Quarter	G-4	10000
1896-S	Barber Quarter	G-4	1000
1901-S	Barber Quarter	G-4	5000
1916	Standing Liberty Quarter	G-4	2750
1918/7-S	Standing Liberty Quarter	G-4	1550
1923-S	Standing Liberty Quarter	G-4	300
1932-D	Washington Quarter	F-12	200
1794	Flowing Hair Half Dollar	G-4	5000
1796 16 Stars	Draped Bust Small Eagle Half Dollar	G-4	35000
1815/12	Capped Bust Half Dollar	G-4	1750
1836 Reed Edge	Capped Bust Half Dollar	G-4	1250
1870-CC	Seated Liberty Half Dollar	G-4	900
1892-O	Barber Half Dollar	G-4	300
1921-D	Walking Liberty Half Dollar	VG-8	450
1938-D	Walking Liberty Half Dollar	VG-8	100
1953-S	Franklin Half Dollar	MS-65 FBL	25000
1794	Flowing Hair Silver Dollar	G-4	60000
1796	Draped Bust Small Eagle Silver Dollar	G-4	1500
1801	Draped Bust Large Eagle Silver Dollar	G-4	1250
1836	Gobrecht Dollar, Name on Base, Circ. Issue	XF-40	12500
1873-CC	Seated Liberty Dollar	F-12	7500
1879	Trade Dollar	PF-65	12750
1889-CC	Morgan Silver Dollar	F-12	1100
1893-S	Morgan Silver Dollar	F-12	4500
1895	Morgan Silver Dollar	F-12 (PF Only)	35000
1928	Peace Dollar	F-12	375
1849-C Cl. Wreath	Type One Gold Dollar	VF-20	1100
1855-D	Type Two Gold Dollar	VF-20	6600
1861-D	Type Three Gold Dollar	VF-20	8500
1796 No Stars	Capped Bust $ 2.50 Quarter Eagle	F-12	52500
1808	Capped Draped Bust $2.50 Quarter Eagle	F-12	27500
1826	Capped Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle	F-12	8450
1838-C	Classic Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle	F-12	1150
1848 CAL.	Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle	F-12	38500
1856-D	Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle	F-12	5000
1911-D	Indian Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle	XF-40	4250
1854-D	Indian Head Three Dollar	F-12	9250
1795	Capped Bust Small Eagle $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	20000
1800	Capped Bust Large Eagle $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	4000
1808	Capped Draped Bust $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	3250
1821	Capped Head $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	17500
1833 Large Date	Capped Head $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	20000
1834 Cross 4	Classic Head $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	1950
1861-D	Coronet $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	6500
1870-CC	Coronet $5.00 Half Eagle	F-12	5250
1909-O	Indian Head $5.00 Half Eagle	XF-40	4750
1795 9 Leaves	Capped Bust Small Eagle $10 Eagle	F-12	47500
1804	Capped Bust Large Eagle $10 Eagle	F-12	22500
1841-O	Coronet $10 Eagle	F-12	4000
1879-CC	Coronet $10 Eagle	F-12	9400
1911-D	Indian Head $10 Eagle	XF-40	1450
1930-S	Indian Head $10 Eagle	XF-40	12500
1859-O	Coronet $20 Double Eagle	VF-20	9500
1907 Wire Rim	St-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle	XF-40	11000
1921	St-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle	XF-40	47500