 1867 With Rays. Choice Brilliant Uncirculated. An average strike on the devices combines with light nickel-gray hues. Like the copper-nickel alloy Flying Eagle and Indian cents, the Philadelphia Mint soon confirmed that the 75% nickel and 25% copper alloy on the Cents was too hard, and as seen on these early Shield nickels, even reduced to 25% nickel and 75% copper, the planchets were still very hard and caused early and severe damage to the coining dies. The more devices employed in the design, the more surface area that had to be struck up during the coining process. Note several minor die cracks on the obverse and the strike doubling on the date and lower shield. In 1867 the Shield nickel design was altered to remove the rays around the denomination. That seemed to help lengthen the expected die life, but this series continues to be plagued with die cracks as the true cause--the nickel alloy--was not altered. Today collectors find such die cracks fascinating and these add to the charm of this series.
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