5495

1866 5C Rays PR67 Ultra Cameo NGC. A mainstay of

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:16,750.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1866 5C Rays PR67 Ultra Cameo NGC. A mainstay of
<B>1866<5C> Rays PR67 Ultra Cameo NGC.</B></I> A mainstay of the United States' circulating coinage today, the Nickel Five Cent Piece was not one of the original denominations produced by the Mint. It took the Civil War, and the monetary upheavals that accompanied that cataclysmic event, to convince the federal government that the nation needed a Nickel Five Cent coin. To help retire the unauthorized and unpopular five cent fractional notes that had circulated during the war, Congress authorized a nickel coin of the same denomination with the Mint Act of May 16, 1866.<BR> James Barton Longacre designed the first Nickel, and his initial Shield design included reverse rays between the stars that encircled the denomination. The Mint dropped the rays in 1867 because they complicated the production process and shortened die life. Proofs were struck in 1866 and in 1867 using the Rays design, and Breen (1977) states that approximately 125-175 coins were struck in the former year. The rarity of the proof 1867 Rays Shield Nickel means that survivors of the 1866 delivery are the only pieces generally available for proof type purposes. This is not to imply that proof 1866 Shield Nickels are common. On the contrary, this first-year issue is a significant rarity in all grades, and few coins have survived with Gem quality surfaces.<BR> This is a lovely proof with untoned surfaces and a boldly cameoed finish. The devices are fully struck, and the surfaces are free of bothersome hairlines and carbon spots. Struck on a slightly porous planchet, evidence of which can be seen in the center of the reverse. Population: 1 in 67 Ultra Cameo, 0 finer (4/05).<BR><I>From The Western Hills Collection.</B></I>