MAN: Hey, how's it going?
MARK: Hey man, I've got a coin I'd like to sell.
OK.
An 1867 Shield nickel.
This is cool.
Where in the world did you get this?
MARK: I've had it for maybe 15 years.
OK, and you had it graded and everything else like that?
MARK: Yeah. This is an extremely rare piece.
MAN: OK.
This is really intriguing.
MARK: I came to the pawn shop today to sell a very
rare 1967 Proof Shield nickel.
It's the finest one ever graded and has huge eye appeal.
I want to sell this coin because I can use the money
and invest it in other things.
MAN: I mean, this is really neat.
This was just a practical choice.
I mean, half dimes were expensive,
they were made out of silver.
This was a nickel alloy that would last a long time.
It wouldn't wear out and everything else like that.
It's a very cool nickel.
There's only 25 made.
MAN: That's pretty amazing.
What makes this nickel so special
is that it's a proof coin.
That means there was a polished blank coin that was
put into the minting machine.
They made sure it was a perfect coin.
Proof coins from the 1800s are a rare, rare thing.
It could be worth some serious money.
Basically what they did is the US
Mint would make a proof copy.
Because all these coins had to get approved.
They would make the proofs, they would
show them around to congressmen, they would say yes or no.
MARK: This proof coin was actual production.
And they stopped the production of this coin
because the coin has stars and bars on it.
And the reason they stopped that is because the North
didn't like the fact that stars and bars
signify the Confederacy.
So they only made this for one month
then they stopped making it.
MAN: OK, so how much are we looking to get out of it?
$90,000.
OK, let me--
you know, I know it's worth a lot of money.
I don't know what they're going for at the moment.
So do you mind if I have someone take a look at it?
MARK: Yeah.
Let me call a buddy of mine. I'll tell him about it.
He'll help us figure out a price.
I'll be right back.
Thanks.
I think that having an expert is very good
to call in and authenticate.
I have nothing to hide.
I hope he looks at it, because he's going to say
the same thing I've said.
These things rarely come to the market.
So I called in my buddy Dave to help me figure out a price.
There it is. This is what I called you about.
DAVID VAGI: Yeah.
It's a fantastic coin.
Wow.
MARK: I love the toning on it, you know.
DAVID VAGI: Perfect.
Well, this is one of the great rarities
in the American series.
It's kind of on everyone's checklist
who wants something like the 100 greatest United States coins.
It's a historical coin, struck right
after the Civil War had ended, right
when they were trying to drive that fractional currency, that
paper money out of the market.
It's a very handsome coin.
DAVID VAGI: The 1867 Shield nickels with rays
is really the king of the whole series.
It's like the big fish in a little pond.
It's the Shield nickel that everyone who collects
Shield nickels wants to own.
MARK: I've had it in the family for a long time.
It's a great one.
With the the wreaths and the garlands,
the whole thing is quite nice.
Yeah.
And it has a very interesting story.
As these things are struck, it forces the metal from
the planchet into the crevices.
If you have a lot of crevices, it really stresses the dies.
So this is a very busy design, and it
created a lot of problems.
But because it has rays, it makes
it significantly rarer than similar ones from 1867
without rays.
And nobody knows how many of these things were struck.
OK.
MAN: And when they graded it, they
gave it a star, which means it's got
really good eye appeal, right?
DAVID VAGI: It means exceptional eye appeal.
So what do you think it's worth?
DAVID VAGI: These have brought in a range of prices
from about $63,000 to--
there was one outlier that brought $80,000.
MARK: We have our opinion of values,
it's slightly different than yours.
OK.
Thanks man, appreciate it.
DAVID VAGI: All right, no problem.
Thanks.
Appreciate it, you've got good knowledge, thanks.
Thank you.
A coin like this is always in demand.
It's somewhat of a narrow market because it's
a specialist market.
So a coin like this usually finds a home.
And I think if Rick can get it for the right price,
it's a good buy.
MAN: So what's your best price on it?
I told you $90,000.
I-- yeah, I mean, I'm looking at like 50 grand.
I couldn't take that.
I mean, that would be throwing $20,000 away in a heartbeat.
Like Dave said, it's a $63,000 coin.
MARK: This is probably the nicest one around.
MAN: Recently sold for $63,000 at auction.
So that's what I'm going to assume it's
going to sell for here, so--
Bottom line $80,000.
That's not going to happen.
Sorry, we're not going to make a deal.
Well, have a nice day, man.
Thank you, appreciate it.
No problem.
MARK: They offered me $50,000 for the coin.
You'd have to be totally on the desert with no water
in order to take that offer.
He could have had it for $80,000 when
it's getting to go for $120,000 or $125,000
in the next few months probably.