The 1871 is known to be a key date among Shield Nickels with its mintage as low as just slightly more than half a million. Scarce and desirable from MS63 through the finest gem grades. Weakly struck stars and die cracks are frequently seen on this issue but the overall strike is strong.
| coinage-type | Shield nickel |
| desg | MS |
| designer | James B. Longacre |
| diameter | 20.5 |
| edge | Plain |
| material | 75% copper; 25% nickel |
| mintage | 561,000 |
| ngc-id | 22P5 |
| obverse-description | A shield flanked on the left and right by leaves topped with a cross with arrows positioned behind at the bottom so the arrow heads and shanks protrude at the sides. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears at the top periphery with the date positioned at the bottom center. |
| pcgs-link | 3798 |
| pcgs-number | 3798 |
| reverse-description | A large numeral 5 surrounded by 13 stars centered in the design with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * CENTS around the periphery. |
| weight-grams | 5 |
| year-display | 1867-1883 |