Obverse: Features a shield based on the coat of arms from the Great Seal of the United States.
Reverse: Depicts the denomination encircled by 13 stars with rays for the original colonies.
The Shield nickel was the first US five-cent piece to be made out of copper-nickel, the same alloy of which American nickels are struck today. Designed by James B. Longacre, the coin was issued from 1866 until 1883, when it was replaced by the Liberty Head nickel. The coin takes its name from the motif on its obverse, and was the first five-cent coin referred to as a "nickel"—silver pieces of that denomination had been known as half dimes.