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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;E Pluribus Unum, post: 2879622, member: 74265&quot;]OK, I see it now.&nbsp; Since the Shield Nickel has a slightly smaller diameter than the Nickels in subsequent series, it thought Shield Nickels would have a slightly smaller mass.</p><p>The one thing I find peculiar with the mass of Shield and Liberty Nickels is that the mass of these nickels are reported to exactly 5.000 grams or 77.162 grains.&nbsp; It seems like the mint switched over to the metric system during the last half the the 19th century.&nbsp; For example, up until 1873 the mass of the quarter was 96.000 grains or 6.221 grams.&nbsp; Then, the mass of the quarter was changed to 96.452 grains or 6.250 grams.&nbsp; The same is true for other denominations:</p><p><br /></p><p>Dimes:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">before</span> 1873, mass = <span style="color: #ff0000">38.400 grains</span> or 2.488 grams</p><p><span style="color: #00b300">after</span> 1873, mass = 38.581 or <span style="color: #00b300">2.500 grams</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Twenty Cents:</p><p><span style="color: #00b300">after</span> 1873 (starting 1875), mass = 77.162 grains or <span style="color: #00b300">5.000 grams</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Quarters:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">before</span> 1873, mass = <span style="color: #ff0000">96.000 grains</span> or 6.221 grams</p><p><span style="color: #00b300">after</span> 1873, mass =96.452 or <span style="color: #00b300">6.250 grams</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Half Dollars:</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">before</span> 1873, mass = <span style="color: #ff0000">192.000 grains</span> or 12.441 grams</p><p><span style="color: #59b300">after</span> 1873, mass = 192.904 or <span style="color: #00b300">12.500 grams</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Looking at the specs from the Coin World Almanac, the Shield Nickel is the first coin that the US Mint specified its weight in grams.&nbsp; I could not find additional information in the book, but from a quick search online I found the <span style="color: #0000ff"><b>Metric Act of 1866</b></span>:</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><i>The use of the metric system made legal (but not mandatory) in the United States by the (Kasson) Metric Act of 1866 (Public Law 39 - 183). This law also made it unlawful to refuse to trade or deal in metric quantities.</i></span></p><p><br /></p><p>Since the Shield Nickel was first minted in 1886 (the same year of the Metric Act of 1866), I wonder if 1886 was the year the US Mint decided to switch from the English system to the Metric system.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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