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Shield Nickel Type Sets
howards
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A different thread started to drift into "what constitutes a shield nickel type set". See: Thread
I thought that was worth a topic on its own. Do note that I'm using the words "type set" in a non-traditional manner - we're talking types of shield nickels only.
First, I'll present a date/type set that covers all of the date/hub combinations:
1866
1866 proof
1867 with rays
1867 no rays
1867 no rays proof w/prototype reverse
1868 reverse of '67
1868 reverse of '68
1869 narrow date
1869 obverse A, reverse of '67
1869 obverse A, reverse of '70
1869 obverse B, reverse of '67
1869 obverse B, reverse of '70
1870 reverse of '67 (only occurs as a DDR reverse of '67 over reverse of '70)
1870 reverse of '70
1871
1872 obverse B
1872 obverse C
1873 closed 3
1873 open 3
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
While I would consider the above only a "basic set" in that it doesn't start to address shield nickel varieties, I think you would find the above set extremely difficult to complete. A couple of the coins are real stoppers that may take you years to find.
What happens if we try to add a "typeset of varieties" to show what sorts of varieties are possible in shield nickels? Here's my list:
A missing leaf coin (1866 through 1869)
A major RPD (such as FS-001 or FS-001.1)
A major north/south DDO (such as FS-008.8)
A major east/west DDO (such as FS-010.5)
A TDO (1868, 1872, or 1876)
A major DDR (such as FS-005.9)
A misplaced date (such as FS-003.1)
A large date over small date (FS-009 only)
A small date over large date (FS-002.1 or FS-007.8)
A rotated die of greater than 45 degrees (a small number of examples known)
A nice overdate (FS-013, FS-013.1, FS-013.2)
A strong die clash (such as 1866 F-09, not in CPG)
A cross-series die clash (FS-005.77, clashed with an IHC)
A multi-variety coin (RPD w/DDO) (such as FS-005.75)
A false die counterfeit
That would be a collection of 15 additional coins, chosen from the more than 500 known shield nickel varieties. I believe those 15 coins would take you decades to find. Then, once you found each of them you could start looking for all of the other similar varieties.
You can see examples of most of those 15 coins pictured here:
Example Photos
I thought that was worth a topic on its own. Do note that I'm using the words "type set" in a non-traditional manner - we're talking types of shield nickels only.
First, I'll present a date/type set that covers all of the date/hub combinations:
1866
1866 proof
1867 with rays
1867 no rays
1867 no rays proof w/prototype reverse
1868 reverse of '67
1868 reverse of '68
1869 narrow date
1869 obverse A, reverse of '67
1869 obverse A, reverse of '70
1869 obverse B, reverse of '67
1869 obverse B, reverse of '70
1870 reverse of '67 (only occurs as a DDR reverse of '67 over reverse of '70)
1870 reverse of '70
1871
1872 obverse B
1872 obverse C
1873 closed 3
1873 open 3
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
While I would consider the above only a "basic set" in that it doesn't start to address shield nickel varieties, I think you would find the above set extremely difficult to complete. A couple of the coins are real stoppers that may take you years to find.
What happens if we try to add a "typeset of varieties" to show what sorts of varieties are possible in shield nickels? Here's my list:
A missing leaf coin (1866 through 1869)
A major RPD (such as FS-001 or FS-001.1)
A major north/south DDO (such as FS-008.8)
A major east/west DDO (such as FS-010.5)
A TDO (1868, 1872, or 1876)
A major DDR (such as FS-005.9)
A misplaced date (such as FS-003.1)
A large date over small date (FS-009 only)
A small date over large date (FS-002.1 or FS-007.8)
A rotated die of greater than 45 degrees (a small number of examples known)
A nice overdate (FS-013, FS-013.1, FS-013.2)
A strong die clash (such as 1866 F-09, not in CPG)
A cross-series die clash (FS-005.77, clashed with an IHC)
A multi-variety coin (RPD w/DDO) (such as FS-005.75)
A false die counterfeit
That would be a collection of 15 additional coins, chosen from the more than 500 known shield nickel varieties. I believe those 15 coins would take you decades to find. Then, once you found each of them you could start looking for all of the other similar varieties.
You can see examples of most of those 15 coins pictured here:
Example Photos
0
Comments
a. Is it known how many die marriages exist for this series.
b. Like bust material, is it possible to distinguish between all die marriages
c. who held/holds the largest collection by variety, and what percent is it of being complete.
Thanks
Ron
Since we do not know how many shield nickel die varieties there are, it is not possible to determine what percentage of them any of us might own. I am aware of one shield nickel collector who attempted to collect by die pairings, but he gave up the project as infeasible. There are a small number of collectors with advanced collections of shield nickel die varieties. Due to the number of varieties, these collectors tend to split off into subspecialities, e.g., high grade coins, missing leaves, overdates, doubled dies.
It would be hard to measure who has the most complete set of varieties also due to the subspecialization. As one person could never own all of the shield nickel varieties, subspecialization is a way to try and break the collecting into more manageable chunks.
If you want to engage in discussions with the hard core shield nickel variety collectors, I suggest the Yahoo Shield Nickel Group which I moderate.
http://www.shieldnickels.net
<< <i>crap, I guess my "with rays" and "without rays" set is not going to cut the mustard
If that's what you set out to do, then you've cut your own mustard.
As I said above, there are so many subspecializations that you one can define shield nickel collecting the way one wants. The list I presented initially is only one such way, and it's intended to introduce someone to all of the hub and variety types available but not go into depth on any one of them.
http://www.shieldnickels.net
I needed that.