Designed by James B. Longacre the Shield Nickel was the first nickel 5 cent piece minted by the U.S. Mint. Previously 5 cent coins had been half dimes. Composition of the new coin was 75% copper and 25% nickel and weighed 5 grams.
The Shield Nickel featured an ornate shield on the obverse while the reverse showed a Roman numeral five surrounded by stars with rays shooting between the stars in 1866 and 1867. Beginning in 1867 the rays were removed, in part because of the difficulty of working with the hard nickel content of the coin.
All Shield Nickels were minted in Philadelphia. The Shield Nickel was retired during 1883 and replaced with the Liberty Head Nickel.
Shield Nickel Mintage
| Philadelphia | |
|---|---|
| 1866 Ray | 14,742,500 |
| 1867 Ray | 2,019,000 |
| 1867 No Ray | 28,890,500 |
| 1868 | 28,817,000 |
| 1869 | 16,395,000 |
| 1870 | 4,806,000 |
| 1871 | 561,000 |
| 1872 | 6,036,000 |
| 1873 | 4,550,000 |
| 1874 | 3,538,000 |
| 1875 | 2,097,000 |
| 1876 | 2,530,000 |
| 1877 | 510 est Proof Only |
| 1878 | 2,350 est Proof Only |
| 1879 | 25,900 |
| 1880 | 16,000 |
| 1881 | 68,800 |
| 1882 | 11,472,900 |
| 1883 | 1,451,500 |