1881 Shield Nickel
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 68,800 made
- Mintage
- 68,800
- Metal
- 75% copper, 25% nickel
- Weight
- 5 g
- Diameter
- 20.5 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1881 Shield Nickel worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1881 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1881 Shield Nickel rare?
- Yes. Only 68,800 were made, 3rd lowest of the 17 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1881 Shield Nickel silver?
- No. It's 75% copper, 25% nickel. The only silver nickels are the 1942 to 1945 wartime coins with a large mint mark above Monticello.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1881 Shield Nickel?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1881 are scarcer?
- The 1880 at 16,000, the 1879 at 25,900. So the 1881 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1881 Shield Nickel coins were made?
- 68,800.
What to check on your 1881
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the leaves around the shield and the horizontal lines within it. The hard alloy meant weak strikes were common, so sharpness adds value.
Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1881
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1881: 68,800 coins, about 4.3 times the 1880 run. In 1882 the figure was 11 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1881 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1879 (25,900) and the 1880 (16,000).
Only the 1880 and the 1879 have a lower mintage among Philadelphia's 17 Shield Nickels. Among the 1880s issues, only the 1880 had a smaller run.
Tiny business strikes and the final year (1879 to 1883)
With the glut still in place, business strikes stayed tiny from 1879 to 1881. Only about 25,900 were made in 1879, 16,000 in 1880 and 68,800 in 1881. The 1880 is the rarest business strike of the series. For these years proofs survive in larger numbers than circulation strikes, so worn coins are the real prize. The 1879 includes a proof 9 over 8 overdate.
Demand finally returned in 1882, when 11.5 million nickels were struck. Another 1.5 million came in 1883 before the Liberty Head design took over. The 1883 has a 3 over 2 overdate that is often misattributed, so look for clear traces of the 2 inside the 3. Survivors from 1882 and 1883 are common and often well struck, which makes them good choices for a type coin.
How to recognize it
A shield topped by a cross and framed by laurel and arrows fills the obverse, with IN GOD WE TRUST above and the date below. The reverse has a large numeral 5 inside a ring of 13 stars, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and CENTS around it. Coins from 1866 and early 1867 also have rays between the stars. The hard nickel alloy often left dates and stars weakly struck.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Shield Nickel (1866–1883) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 68,800 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 20.5 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Mintage: United States nickel mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.