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1879 Shield nickel value guide -- a genuinely scarce low-mintage date, and grade-by-grade prices.
Condition drives the price — full breakdown below.
Note: a full grade-by-grade breakdown for this coin is still being compiled.
29,100 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.
Extremely low business-strike mintage makes 1879 one of the scarcest Shield nickel dates in genuine circulated grades -- not literally proof-only like 1877, but business strikes are rare enough that it functions as a near-key-date in practice.
NGC separately states circulated 1879 examples run roughly $450-$2,650 and uncirculated up to about $15,000, directionally consistent with this table but from an independent source.
Other dates and varieties in this series
What to check before you pay, specific to this date and its 29,100-coin mintage.
The same date runs from about $527 worn to $2,768 at the top of the scale — a 5× 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 1879 Shield Nickel
Value depends heavily on condition. A well-worn example brings closer to $527, while an uncirculated one can reach $2,768 or more.
Extremely low business-strike mintage makes 1879 one of the scarcest Shield nickel dates in genuine circulated grades -- not literally proof-only like 1877, but business strikes are rare enough that it functions as a near-key-date in practice.
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.
