The Shield nickel series has yielded a large number of varieties.
Howard Spindel, a leading expert on Shield nickels, notes that Shield nickel dies produced far fewer coins than other coin dies, as the dies wore out so fast that the Mint was continually under great pressure to produce new ones.
According to Spindel, many dies were hastily and carelessly produced, producing numerous minor varieties.

Bowers points to the 1868 nickel as "a playground for repunching [repunched dates], errors, and the like".
Specialists have found more than sixty different doubled die varieties, caused by misalignment when the heated die was repeatedly pressed against the hub to transfer the design.
There are several different kinds of repunched dates, including a variety in which the numeral "1" is much smaller than usually found on the Shield nickel.

As with many denominations of United States coins, there are two major varieties of the 1873 piece.
The initial variety, known as the "close 3" or "closed 3" was struck first.
These coins led to a complaint by the chief coiner, A. Loudon Snowden, to Pollock, who was again director of the Mint.
Snowden stated that the numeral "3" in the date too closely resembled an "8".
The Mint prepared new date punches, in which the arms of the 3 did not curl around toward the center, creating the second variety, the "open 3".

The final year of production saw an overdate, 1883/2, with a visible "2" under or near the digit "3".
This variety was caused by the use of 1882-dated dies which were not destroyed at the end of the year, but were instead repunched with a four-digit logotype, "1883".
Five different dies are known to have been so reused, and Bowers estimates a mintage of 118,975 pieces.
Spindel estimates that only 0.2%–0.3% of the pieces have survived to the present.
The Shield nickel series has yielded a large number of varieties. Howard Spindel, a leading expert on Shield nickels, notes that Shield nickel dies produced far fewer coins than other coin dies, as the dies wore out so fast that the Mint was continually under great pressure to produce new ones. According to Spindel, many dies were hastily and carelessly produced, producing numerous minor varieties.
Bowers points to the 1868 nickel as "a playground for repunching [repunched dates], errors, and the like". Specialists have found more than sixty different doubled die varieties, caused by misalignment when the heated die was repeatedly pressed against the hub to transfer the design. There are several different kinds of repunched dates, including a variety in which the numeral "1" is much smaller than usually found on the Shield nickel.
As with many denominations of United States coins, there are two major varieties of the 1873 piece. The initial variety, known as the "close 3" or "closed 3" was struck first. These coins led to a complaint by the chief coiner, A. Loudon Snowden, to Pollock, who was again director of the Mint. Snowden stated that the numeral "3" in the date too closely resembled an "8". The Mint prepared new date punches, in which the arms of the 3 did not curl around toward the center, creating the second variety, the "open 3".
The final year of production saw an overdate, 1883/2, with a visible "2" under or near the digit "3". This variety was caused by the use of 1882-dated dies which were not destroyed at the end of the year, but were instead repunched with a four-digit logotype, "1883". Five different dies are known to have been so reused, and Bowers estimates a mintage of 118,975 pieces. Spindel estimates that only 0.2%–0.3% of the pieces have survived to the present.
Shield nickel