1870 Nickel Patterns

About This Coin

Struck at the Philadelphia Mint as part of the 1870 Standard Silver Patterns program, these nickel-denomination pieces tested proposed designs for the five-cent coin under William Barber's direction. The Shield Nickel had been introduced just four years earlier in 1866, yet the Mint was already evaluating whether Longacre's Shield motif warranted replacement. The obverse features experimental alternatives to the Shield design, while the reverse presented various wreath, numeral, and eagle compositions. These patterns occupied an interesting position because the nickel denomination was itself a compositional experiment — struck in 75% copper and 25% nickel rather than silver — making it a testing ground for both design and metallurgical innovation simultaneously. A notable auction result of $11K in PR67 at Legend Rare Coin Auctions confirms collector interest. The 1870 nickel patterns anticipated the eventual transition to Charles Barber's Liberty Head design in 1883, suggesting seeds of that concept may have germinated in the elder Barber's experimental work.