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5 Cents '1866 Nickel' Pattern, copper
| Issuer | United States Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Cents (0.05 USD) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1866 |
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| Additional information |
The 1866 nickel five-cent piece patterns were struck as part of a deliberate lobbying campaign by Joseph Wharton, the Pennsylvania industrialist who controlled the country's only significant nickel deposits. Wharton pushed Congress hard to adopt a nickel alloy for the new small-denomination coin, and the Mint obliged by striking patterns in multiple compositions — including copper — to demonstrate the concept to legislators. The copper strikes like this Judd-462 were trial pieces, not proposals for circulation, produced to show what the design would look like before alloy decisions were finalized.