Hello, I got a fine condition shield nickel for .50 cents, and I was wondering how hard is it to collect them, and how much do they cost? Thanks
Depends upon the condition that you want to collect them in. Your hard dates are 1879,1880,1881 with the 1880 being the most expensive. If you complete it with the 1883/2 variety add that to the list.
It's been so long ago, I forgot the year, but I found one of the hard dates. The coin was so ugly. It was rusted, corroded, ugly black/brown, full of pits... However, you could still make out the date. I got like 30 bux for the ugliest nickel you ever laid eyes on. I know it wasn't 'the' key date for the series, but the guy that bought it said it was a very hard date. I guess what I am saying is that I got the impression that Shield Nickels would be an expensive set.
Yes - you need to get a red book as hobo mentioned. The 1866 to 1876 are pretty easy to collect. The 1877,1878 are proof only - with the 1877 being very expensive. Then the 1879,1880 and 1881 business strikes are very expensive even in AG condition. Then 1882 and 1883 are also easy to find in low grades. Now what is fun with shield nickel is collecting some of the varieties. I have 6 or 7 of the DDO shield nickels - some of these can be found, but not always cheap. On occasion you can cherry pick one off the bay. There are some very cool varieties.
Yes the fun thing with the shield nickels are the varieties. There are literally dozens if not hundreds of DDO's, DDR's, RPD's, MPD's, the missing leaf varieties of 1866 and 67, plenty of broken hub reverses, not to mention all the die cracks and cuds. Frankly if you want a real challenge you try to find one that DOESN'T have something wrong with it. The die shop was going crazy trying to keep up with the demand for dies. A typical die pair only lasted for about four hours in the press.
Wow, if you got a shield nickel in Fine condition for 50 cents, you got an OUTSTANDING BUY!!!! Great way to start.
hey hobo corey here new to the site just aquired a shield nickel 1882 without rays and would like to know what you thought as to grade and value thanks for your time and anyone elses feedback would be great
the groves for the shield is all there no rubs anywhere just a bit dirty but i was told not to clean it
I'd buy 'em all day long in F at 50 cents. It may have been cleaned though so you'd need to check that. And make sure it wasn't nic-o-dated which kills value.
Welcome Corey. Based off that picture I would call it AU - pictures make it really hard to go any higher. And hobo is really right about finding one without something wrong - especially without die cracks. And one note - understand the 1882 filled 2. You used to see these listed on ebay all the time as 1883/2 - not the same. Here is a nice website by one of the recognized experts. http://www.shieldnickels.net/
I really couldn't say from those photos. Try retaking the photos by: 1) taking the coin out of the 2X2 (so there is no reflection off the plastic window) 2) shooting the photo straight on rather than at an angle (so the entire coin is in focus instead of only part of the coin) By the way, Shield Nickels had ray in 1866 and part of 1867. After that none of them have rays. So '1882 Shield Nickel No Rays' is redundant.
