Shield nickel melt value

What this coin is

The Shield nickel is a copper coin of the United States struck 1866–1883. This page is for the type × composition — every date and mint of this issue has the same metal if the weight and fineness match the spec below. Melt is that metal times today’s spot, not a collector or dealer bid.

What is written on the coin

Read the denomination, the date, and the country name on the coin. People often search the words actually stamped on the piece (for example DOS PESOS or VEINTE PESOS on Mexican gold). Those words are indexed on this site.

Metal content (the melt spec)

Mint specification: 5.0000 grams at 75% copper, which is 3.750 g / 0.00827 lb of copper (ACW). Copper is priced per pound. Formula: grams × fineness ÷ 453.59237 × copper $/lb. Date and mintmark do not change that number. Melt today is $0.0746 per coin at $6.5215/lb copper.

Mintage

Mintage varies by date. We do not publish a year-by-year mintage table here because melt is the same for this composition. A scarce date or a high grade can be worth more than melt; a common worn piece is often near melt.

A little history

This type belongs to the 1866–1883 period in the United States. Use the date on the coin to confirm you have this composition, not a later clad or debased issue of the same design.

How to tell you have this type

Match denomination, metal color, and date range. If two compositions share a design (for example 90% vs clad), the date or the edge (solid silver vs copper stripe) decides which page to use.

Date and mintmark do not change the metal on this page. Collector value is a different market — a shop looks at date, mint, and condition. Melt is the floor.

Copper is a base metal, quoted in dollars per pound (Kitco), not per troy ounce. Melt here is the copper in the coin at that bid. Collector cents are usually worth more as coins than as scrap. Zinc cents from 1982-on have almost no copper.