Set report · United States · Nickels
Shield Nickel: Who Owns What
How often each Shield Nickel coin actually turns up in a collection, measured by how many of the 720 collectors of this set have one. Coins are graded from Common to Extremely scarce against the set's most-owned coin — a measure of collecting frequency, not of how many survive.
Hardest to find in real collections
The five least-owned coins of the set — ownership counts are collector-reported.
…and the ones everybody has
Full set: ownership & rarity, coin by coin
Values by grade for each of these live on the Shield Nickel catalog pages and the full price guide.
| Coin | Mintage | Collectors | % of set collectors | How often collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1866 | 14,742,500 | 342 | 47.5% | Common |
| 1866 (Proof) | 600 | 16 | 2.2% | Extremely scarce |
| 1866 Repunched Date (Variety) | — | 14 | 1.9% | Extremely scarce |
| 1867 | 28,890,500 | 275 | 38.2% | Common |
| 1867 No Rays | — | 304 | 42.2% | Common |
| 1867 (Proof) | 600 | 10 | 1.4% | Extremely scarce |
| 1867 No Rays (Proof) | — | 10 | 1.4% | Extremely scarce |
| 1867 No Rays, Pattern Reverse (Proof Variety) | — | 7 | 1% | Extremely scarce |
| 1868 | 28,817,000 | 314 | 43.6% | Common |
| 1868 (Proof) | 600 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1869 | 16,395,000 | 237 | 32.9% | Uncommon |
| 1869 (Proof) | 600 | 10 | 1.4% | Extremely scarce |
| 1870 | 4,806,000 | 167 | 23.2% | Scarce |
| 1870 (Proof) | 1,000 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1871 | 561,000 | 92 | 12.8% | Scarce |
| 1871 (Proof) | 960 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1872 | 6,036,000 | 150 | 20.8% | Scarce |
| 1872 (Proof) | 950 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1873 | — | 127 | 17.6% | Scarce |
| 1873 Open 3 | 4,113,950 | 10 | 1.4% | Extremely scarce |
| 1873 Large Over Small 3 (Error) | — | 8 | 1.1% | Extremely scarce |
| 1873 (Proof) | 1,100 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1873 Close 3 (Variety) | — | 17 | 2.4% | Extremely scarce |
| 1874 | 3,538,000 | 116 | 16.1% | Scarce |
| 1874 (Proof) | 700 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1875 | 2,097,000 | 110 | 15.3% | Scarce |
| 1875 (Proof) | 700 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1876 | 2,530,000 | 118 | 16.4% | Scarce |
| 1876 (Proof) | 1,150 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1877 (Proof) | 900 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1878 (Proof) | 2,350 | 12 | 1.7% | Extremely scarce |
| 1879 | 25,900 | 66 | 9.2% | Very scarce |
| 1879 9 Over 8 (Error) | — | 7 | 1% | Extremely scarce |
| 1879 (Proof) | 3,200 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1880 | 16,000 | 71 | 9.9% | Very scarce |
| 1880 (Proof) | 3,955 | 11 | 1.5% | Extremely scarce |
| 1881 | 68,800 | 78 | 10.8% | Very scarce |
| 1881 (Proof) | 3,575 | 9 | 1.3% | Extremely scarce |
| 1882 | 11,472,900 | 212 | 29.4% | Uncommon |
| 1882 (Proof) | 3,100 | 10 | 1.4% | Extremely scarce |
| 1883 | 1,451,500 | 177 | 24.6% | Uncommon |
| 1883 3 Over 2 (Error) | — | 12 | 1.7% | Extremely scarce |
| 1883 (Proof) | 5,419 | 11 | 1.5% | Extremely scarce |
- Common
- Uncommon
- Scarce
- Very scarce
- Extremely scarce
Based on the share of this set's collectors who own each coin — how often it turns up in a collection, not how many survive. Not the Sheldon rarity scale.
About these numbers
Ownership counts come from the same live per-coin counters shown across the LuckyCoin catalog; set-level collector counts come from the annual full-collection scan behind The State of Coin Collecting 2026. Counts are collector-reported and aggregate-only. Scarcity tiers come from 100 × (1 − owners ÷ owners of the set's most-owned coin): Common under 25, Uncommon 25–49, Scarce 50–74, Very scarce 75–89, Extremely scarce 90+. This reflects how often a coin is collected, not its surviving population — it is not the Sheldon rarity scale. CC BY 4.0 with attribution.