Shield Nickel with Rays Opinions
Bullet01
Posts: 95 ✭✭✭
1866-67 Shield Nickels with Rays are definitely hard to come by with a good solid strike. Especially the reverse which always appears mushy and undefined around the stars. I mean, its not rare to find nice pieces but it does present a good challenge to find the right coin. Especially if you're an extremely picky person. 
Was there ever talks about giving special designations to these coins? Like FH with Standing Quarters, FB with Mercury dimes, or FS for Jefferson Nickels? Maybe "FRS" for Full Rays & Stars. Does anybody feel like they should attract a different/higher premium compared to the regular weak strikes?
Weak Strike
Full Strike
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Comments
I don’t have much to say honestly. I do not know of a label added for what you are asking. Maybe if the series ran a bit longer then possibly.
Well, I agree that there are plenty of mushy ones out there. I turned down quite a few until finding this one, which I felt had enough interesting qualities to be "good enough." There's still a bit of weakness, yes.
That said, I'm not a huge fan of strike designations. Strike already figures in to the numerical grade...... so it's always confused me a bit how you can talk about it twice in a single grade. Strike detail isn't hard to see and even a semi-competent collector should be able to figure it out on their own.
Agree with you on the strike issue - I remember some years ago having to hunt for a while to find a decently struck example for the 7070.
I'm guessing that even w/o the official designation, the better struck coins are probably commanding some premium, at least at auctions. The 'market' seems to be getting pickier and pickier, with better eye appeal pieces commanding stronger money. And strike would be part of the eye appeal equation.
Those designations (FH, FSB, FS) denote a small area of the coin...and one likely to be weak or worn... Your suggestion would cover most of the reverse of the coin... With the size of the detail, I think the grade would be the best representative of the quality. Cheers, RickO
I just secured a Buy/Trade of a 1867 Shield Nickel with Rays to replace the one that I sold earlier this year. It's a little mushy on the reverse, but it's tone helps ease the pain.
As far as the strike designation, sure, why not...and why stop there? Would I pay extra for the designation? Depends on the coin as a whole; strike, tone, variety attributes, etc...
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Please, no more designations. Collectors can tell if the coin is well struck or not and make their own decision to purchase or pass.
The rim-to-rim obverse die cracks may be related to the lack of reverse detail opposite the die cracks?
I would give + or ★ designations then to signify full clean strikes on this particular coin. Call me crazy.
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