Heritage Auctions
Nickel · $0.05
1866 Pattern & Experimental Coins
Key Features
- Judd-461, struck in nickel - Copper version: Judd-462 - Rejected in favor of the Shield design - Value guide: about $1,650 to $6,000 (Greysheet CPG)
Intriguing History
One of the first ideas for the new nickel was George Washington. An 1866 pattern puts his portrait on the five-cent piece: Judd-461 in nickel and Judd-462 in copper. Treasury Secretary Hugh McCulloch passed on it and picked Longacre's shield design instead. Washington wouldn't appear on a regular U.S. coin until the 1932 quarter. Today this pattern starts at around $1,650.