Grading My 1867 Shield Nickel: 6 Months of Frustration, Failure and Ultimate Clarity

That 1867 Shield Nickel Nearly Broke Me – Here’s What Actually Matters

Pulling that worn 1867 Shield Nickel from a bulk lot last December felt like striking gold. Little did I know this tiny coin would dominate my next six months with equal parts excitement and frustration. What began as simple curiosity about its grade became an obsessive quest – complete with photography disasters, heated forum debates, and harsh financial realities. Let me save you the headaches I endured.

The Moment That Hooked Me

I still remember my cold fingers fumbling through that battered Whitman folder. When the shield design emerged clearer than most early nickels, my pulse actually quickened. Under the lamplight, I spotted things that still haunt me:

• A surprisingly sharp rim (except for that damn 4 o’clock ding)
• Whisper-thin concentric circles in the fields
• Trapped mint luster beneath the toning
• Those cryptic scratches taunting me across the shield

My rookie mistake? Assuming my smartphone could capture what my eyes saw. Oh, how wrong I was.

Why Your Coin Photos Lie

Camera Tricks That Fooled Me

My first forum posts featured photos that made graders cringe – blown-out highlights hiding key details. After burning through $127 in lighting gear, here’s what actually works for Shield Nickels:


// What Your Camera Actually Needs
1. Any DSLR with macro OR phone + clip lens (yes, really)
2. Two adjustable LEDs (cheap ones work)
3. Neutral background (gray card > fancy setups)
4. Polarizing filter to kill false reflections
5. Manual mode: f/8, 1/60s, ISO 100 (trust me)


Even then, metallic surfaces play tricks. Those “definite AU details” in my photos? Pure fiction under natural light.

The Great Pink Coin Conspiracy

Remember forum arguments about color? My “pinkish” nickel photos sparked debates until I realized:

• 30% saw pink tones (like me)
• Over half called it standard silver-gray
• The rest swore it looked jaundiced

I nearly threw my monitor out the window when an in-person meetup revealed plain old toning. Never judge color digitally.

The Grading Gut Punch

Why Experts Clashed on My Nickel

Online opinions swung wildly from XF45 to AU58 – a $300+ difference. A grizzled NGC grader finally showed me why at a coin show:

“New collectors obsess over shields and rays. The fields tell the real story here. Find the cartwheel luster first, then check the rest.”
– Anonymous but life-saving mentor

Armed with a borrowed USB microscope, I discovered three game-changers invisible in photos:

• Micro-scratches in the left field (bingo – cleaned!)
• Trapped luster near stars (hope!)
• That sneaky die crack at 3:00 (validating a sharp-eyed Redditor)

My $85 Wake-Up Call

Those controversial shield scratches? PCGS’s standards confirmed they’d mean “AU Details – Scratched”. Suddenly that grading fee equaled half the coin’s value. Reality bites.

Variety Madness Simplified

The original thread’s overwhelming variety list sent me down a rabbit hole. Here’s what actually matters for 1867 Shield Nickels:

Varieties That Pay Off

• FS-1101 (DDO): Obvious doubling on UNITED STATES
• FS-1301 (RPD): Ghostly 1867 under the date
• Missing Leaf: Incomplete wreath leaves

My $22 USB microscope revealed:


// Reality Check Results
1. Minor doubling on 5 CENTS (no catalog match)
2. No repunched date (heartbreak)
3. Full wreath leaves (no premium)


Translation: Just another common date with character.

Cold Hard Cash Realities

That $120 PCGS AU55 auction comp forced a brutal math moment at my kitchen table:

• Grading: $38
• Shipping/insurance: $44 round trip
• Potential loss: Over $40 bucks

This birthed my “5x Rule”: Only submit raw coins worth 5x grading fees. For Shield Nickels? Minimum AU58 condition.

Wisdom Earned Through Failure

The Truths That Changed Everything

After six months and enough reference books to crush a small pet, here’s what sticks:

1. Trust Nothing You See Immediately: First looks always lie
2. Photos Are Coin Fiction: Lighting creates alternate realities
3. Grading Isn’t Always the Answer: Sometimes raw is right

My New Normal

That nickel now lives happily in my Dansco album. For new finds, this routine saves sanity:


// My No-Regrets Evaluation Flow
1. 10x loupe inspection (always)
2. USB microscope variety check (3 minutes max)
3. Weight check against Red Book specs
4. Daylight vs artificial light test
5. PCGS price guide reality check
6. Mandatory 48-hour cooling off period


The Coin That Changed Me

This 1867 Shield Nickel cost me sleep, money, and pride – but taught me more than a decade of casual collecting. Those scratches I hated? Now they’re beauty marks telling its story. The grade debates? They forced me to develop real skills. And that pink tint illusion? A permanent reminder that coins demand physical connection.

Here’s the real treasure I found: The market value matters less than what you learn hunting it. When I flip my album open now, I don’t see an AU Details coin – I see the $300 education that transformed me from clueless to confident. And that’s worth every scratch.

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