1873 Nickel Patterns

About This Coin

From the final year of the Trade Dollar Era Patterns (1871-1873), the 1873 Nickel Patterns represent William Barber's redesign of the five-cent denomination at the Philadelphia Mint. The obverse features Barber's seated Liberty facing left with olive branch and wheat sheaf, proposing a departure from the Shield nickel design in production since 1866. The reverse displays an eagle perched on a bale of goods with olive branch and three arrows, maintaining the commercial symbolism unifying Barber's comprehensive pattern series. A notable auction result of $11K in PR64 grade at Stack's Bowers makes these among the more accessible entries in the Trade Dollar era family. The five-cent denomination held particular interest because the nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel) was itself a recent innovation, having replaced the silver half dime only seven years earlier. Barber's patterns thus proposed not just a new design but a new artistic identity for a denomination still establishing its visual character. For specialists, the nickel patterns demonstrate how Barber adapted his design language to the distinctive proportions and metallic properties of the copper-nickel alloy.