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1866 Shield nickel value guide -- the first-year Rays design, mintage, and grade-by-grade prices.
Condition drives the price — full breakdown below.
14,742,500 struck — against the other key dates in the Shield Nickel series.
Bars are scaled to keep the smallest mintages visible; the exact figure is printed on every row. Mintage is coins struck, not coins surviving — melting and circulation wear thin those numbers further.
First-year design; the Rays (Type 1) reverse was struck in 1866 and part of 1867, then dropped due to die-clashing and striking problems.
All Shield nickels were struck at Philadelphia only -- no branch mint ever produced this denomination.
Other dates and varieties in this series
What to check before you pay, specific to this date and its 14,742,500-coin mintage.
The same date runs from about $43 worn to $612 at the top of the scale — a 14× spread. Nearly all of that gap is condition, not the date on the coin, so work out where an example sits on the table above before deciding whether its asking price is fair.
A PCGS or NGC holder settles authenticity and grade in one go, which is most of what you're actually paying for at this level. The premium it adds is small next to the cost of being wrong about either.
Every Shield Nickel listed here is priced by an individual seller, so the same coin in the same grade can differ by a wide margin on any given day. Sort by price, check Metal Points and order history for a sense of the seller's record, and message them if the photos don't show enough to grade confidently.
About the 1866 With Rays Shield Nickel
Value depends heavily on condition. A well-worn example brings closer to $43, while an uncirculated one can reach $612 or more.
First-year design; the Rays (Type 1) reverse was struck in 1866 and part of 1867, then dropped due to die-clashing and striking problems.
For anything you believe is a key date or an error, professional grading protects both buyer and seller by settling condition and authenticity before money changes hands.
The rest of the series, with what each is worth at the top of the grade scale.
List it free on PeerMetals — flat 2.75% seller fee, zero listing fees, 1–3 day payouts.
