1867 5c Shield Nickel with Rays NGC MS64 CAC
1866 saw the production of the first 5 cent nickel and it had a busy reverse design that was difficult to strike. But it saw a full year of production. Striking issues caused the Mint to rethink the design and a new one with fewer reverse design elements was put in place in early 1867. As a result, 1867 5c nickels with the original reverse with rays had a very short production run in 1867 and are the scarcer of the two dates. This example is a shimmering gem.
According to Ron Guth, in 1867, the Mint continued using a reverse with the rays interspersed between the stars. Problems in striking the coins continued, particularly the difficulties in bringing up all the details and with dies cracking prematurely. A decision was made to remove the rays, in the hopes that their removal might solve some of the production problems.
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