Shield Nickel - Replacement

Replacement

The 1867 redesign of the reverse had not solved the problems of short die life and poor striking; with a view to a redesign, pattern coins were struck in 1868 and 1871, but the Shield nickel remained in production. Charles E. Barber became chief engraver in 1880, and the following year was asked to produce uniform designs for the nickel, the three-cent piece, and a proposed copper-nickel cent. While the redesign of the two lower denominations did not occur, in 1882, Barber's design for the nickel, with a Liberty head on the obverse and the Roman numeral "V" on the reverse, was approved. The following year the Barber design replaced the Shield nickel. Shield nickels dated 1883 had already been coined by the time the Barber design was ready, and Mint officials desired to discourage speculation. Accordingly, they kept the shield design in production for several months side by side with what became known as the Liberty Head nickel. Almost a million and a half Shield nickels were struck in 1883. Coinage of the Shield nickel was ended on June 26, 1883.