Shield Nickels (1866-1883)
Current Numismatic Coin Values

Shield Nickel current coin values are listed below, reported in the form of ranges. You can use this information to approximate what a Shield Nickel is worth in today’s retail coin market over a wide spectrum of grades.

Keep in mind this is intended to act as a guide only. Its purpose is to give coin collectors an idea what Shield Nickels are selling for, but there will be some variation in price from one seller to the next.

Shield Nickel retail price estimates are provided by the NumisMaster Coin Values website, where you can find the value of any coin or currency, both US and international, through the NumisMaster Coin Price Guide.

In addition to Shield Nickel values, we've listed estimated retail price ranges for other United States coins. Click the “Current U.S. Coin Values” link toward upper right of this page to access more coin pricing guides, or go back to the previous page.

Learn More About Shield Nickels

Shield Nickels Tracked in Rare Coin Values Index**: 1879

History of the Shield Nickel

Mint Mark Information

**The Rare Coin Values Index is produced by this website, US Coin Values Advisor. The Index measures the direction of the US rare coin market by tracking the price movement of 87 key date coins. The market is updated monthly. Visit our Rare Coin Values Index page to see how it works.


Shield Nickel Specifications
Diameter:	Weight:	Minted:	Composition:	Designer	Edge:
20.5 mm	5.00 g	1866-1883	.750 Cu .250 Ni	James Longacre	Plain
Coin Photos courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA

Shield Nickel Current Coin Values
Courtesy of Numismaster US Coin Values

Coin values are presented as a price range for each date and grade listed below. The information below was last updated on June 28, 2011.

Coin	Mintage	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	MS60	MS65	Prf65
1866	14,742,500	22.00 - 33.00	30.80 - 46.20	40.00 - 60.00	60.00 - 90.00	124 - 186	188 - 282	208 - 312	2160 - 3240	3080 - 4620
1867 rays	2,019,000	30.00 - 45.00	40.00 - 60.00	54.00 - 81.00	80.00 - 120	160 - 240	236 - 354	280 - 420	3320 - 4980	60000 - 90000
1867 no rays	28,890,500	14.40 - 21.60	16.80 - 25.20	22.40 - 33.60	30.00 - 45.00	48.00 - 72.00	96.00 - 144	128 - 192	720 - 1080	2760 - 4140
1868	28,817,000	14.40 - 21.60	16.80 - 25.20	22.40 - 33.60	30.00 - 45.00	48.00 - 72.00	96.00 - 144	128 - 192	780 - 1170	1200 - 1800
1869	16,395,000	14.40 - 21.60	16.80 - 25.20	22.40 - 33.60	30.00 - 45.00	48.00 - 72.00	96.00 - 144	128 - 192	620 - 930	800 - 1200
1870	4,806,000	21.60 - 32.40	27.20 - 40.80	41.60 - 62.40	52.00 - 78.00	72.00 - 108	116 - 174	160 - 240	1360 - 2040	1000 - 1500
1871	561,000	56.00 - 84.00	72.00 - 108	100 - 150	136 - 204	212 - 318	260 - 390	300 - 450	1680 - 2520	880 - 1320
1872	6,036,000	28.00 - 42.00	33.60 - 50.40	56.00 - 84.00	64.00 - 96.00	92.00 - 138	120 - 180	188 - 282	1080 - 1620	656 - 984
1873 Open 3	4,550,000	22.40 - 33.60	28.80 - 43.20	41.60 - 62.40	52.00 - 78.00	64.00 - 96.00	108 - 162	160 - 240	1920 - 2880	672 - 1008
1873 Closed 3	Inc. Ab.	27.20 - 40.80	33.60 - 50.40	52.00 - 78.00	72.00 - 108	120 - 180	176 - 264	280 - 420	2600 - 3900	---
1874	3,538,000	23.20 - 34.80	31.20 - 46.80	56.00 - 84.00	65.60 - 98.40	84.00 - 126	112 - 168	180 - 270	1200 - 1800	800 - 1200
1875	2,097,000	32.00 - 48.00	44.00 - 66.00	64.00 - 96.00	88.00 - 132	116 - 174	152 - 228	200 - 300	1600 - 2400	1320 - 1980
1876	2,530,000	30.40 - 45.60	40.00 - 60.00	59.20 - 88.80	80.00 - 120	108 - 162	140 - 210	184 - 276	1520 - 2280	720 - 1080
1877 proof	Est. 900	1200 - 1800	1320 - 1980	1400 - 2100	1600 - 2400	1720 - 2580	1840 - 2760	---	---	3440 - 5160
1878 proof	2,350	640 - 960	700 - 1050	720 - 1080	880 - 1320	1040 - 1560	1160 - 1740	---	---	1720 - 2580
Coin	Mintage	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	MS60	MS65	Prf65
1879	29,100	332 - 498	416 - 624	500 - 750	540 - 810	600 - 900	660 - 990	776 - 1164	1600 - 2400	672 - 1008
1879/8	Inc. Ab.	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	680 - 1020
1880	19,995	448 - 672	496 - 744	620 - 930	760 - 1140	1040 - 1560	1400 - 2100	2760 - 4140	38000 - 57000	560 - 840
1881	72,375	216 - 324	272 - 408	356 - 534	400 - 600	480 - 720	584 - 876	640 - 960	1520 - 2280	528 - 792
1882	11,476,600	14.40 - 21.60	16.00 - 24.00	21.60 - 32.40	28.80 - 43.20	46.40 - 69.60	92.00 - 138	120 - 180	600 - 900	528 - 792
1883	1,456,919	14.40 - 21.60	16.80 - 25.20	25.60 - 38.40	30.00 - 45.00	48.00 - 72.00	94.40 - 142	128 - 192	600 - 900	528 - 792
1883/2	Inc. Ab.	168 - 252	228 - 342	340 - 510	520 - 780	680 - 1020	800 - 1200	1120 - 1680	3200 - 4800	---