The 1872 Shield Nickel is very common as the mintage is high, at over 6 million, making it an 1870s type coin. Easily accessible in all grades until MS66 where it becomes quite scarce from there on out. This issue is known to have a weaker strike all around and some die cracks but neither are serious problems.
| coinage-type | Shield nickel |
| desg | MS |
| designer | James B. Longacre |
| diameter | 20.5 |
| edge | Plain |
| material | 75% copper; 25% nickel |
| mintage | 6,036,000 |
| ngc-id | 22P6 |
| 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 | 3799 |
| pcgs-number | 3799 |
| 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 |