The lowest mintage of all business strike Shield Nickels with just 16,000 coins struck and a small fraction surviving. A true rarity across all grades in which circulated pieces come up every so often but Mint State pieces are very tough to locate, if at all. Only a handful of gems exist and are extremely rare. Higher grade examples commonly display a proof-like look.
| coinage-type | Shield nickel |
| desg | MS |
| designer | James B. Longacre |
| diameter | 20.5 |
| edge | Plain |
| material | 75% copper; 25% nickel |
| mintage | 16,000 |
| ngc-id | 276E |
| 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 | 3810 |
| pcgs-number | 3810 |
| prefix | Key Date |
| 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 |