The latest practice (by major TPGs) is to accept only those 1880s that show the "island reverse" as business strikes. The island is a small lump...
@John Kapalcik: I'm not going to make any negative comments on Larry Briggs, because I've known him a long time and have always found him to be...
You could try Nickelene but there is very little hope of brightening this coin. On the positive side, nothing you do to it can ruin it worse than...
QDB is one of nicest and most knowledgable numismatists you will ever meet. I had the pleasure of working with him on some contributions to the...
Still no pix?
The reverse die with the lump was only used in 1880. An earlier die stage of the same die (without the lump) was also used for 1879. (The...
There are no obverse die markers that can reliably distinguish 1880 proof shield nickels from business strikes. There is one reverse die marker...
You shouldn't feel bad. Chances are very high that the coin you sold was an impaired proof (there are a lot of them wrongly be identified as...
I should add that the majority of the coins with the second obverse are also proofs. The only recognized business strikes are those with what is...
Pictures would be invaluable in helping you. Photos of the different shield nickel reverse hubs are available here:...
Including the person who bought it!
Relatively speaking, it was worth a lot more on the day it was minted than it is today. In 1866 or 1867, you could buy a lot of stuff with a nickel!
We should also make a distinction when talking about surviving populations with regard to survivors that a collector would want to have. Zillions...
ANACS pops: 1867: 540 1868: 407 1869: 239 1883: 901
Actually, in the late 1860's the Philly mint began serving the public as a clearinghouse for dirty coins. About 60 million coins were turned in,...
PCGS/NGC Pop report: 1867: 1243, 983 1868: 1221, 946 1869: 653, 558 1883: 2695, 1890 Those of you who claim that 1883 is not the most...
Now you do. :-)
But you see more 1883 these days than 1882. The 1883 was saved in large numbers because the public knew it was the last year of issue. 1883 is...
Typical 1882 filled 2. This website explains all about it: http://www.shieldnickels.net/1883_2/1882Filled2.html
Of course, I can't see luster in a photo, and perhaps impaired luster is why ICG graded this coin MS60. Marks-wise, it looks awfully nice for a...
Separate names with a comma.
