1867 5C No Rays Shield Nickel

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. 

The mintage of the 1867 No Rays Nickel is substantially higher than that of the 1867 With Rays, but the difference is not so stark in the number of certified examples.  For instance, the PCGS Population Report (as of May 2012), shows 574 With Rays and only 834 of the No Rays.  Perhaps collector interest in the No Rays version was not great enough to preserve large quantities of the newer version.

Mint State version are relatively common and are most likely to be found at the MS-64 level.  Gems are scarcer and the finest examples graded by PCGS are 11 at the MS66 level.