1870 Proof

Proof production rose to approximately 1,000 coins in 1870, a notable increase over the 600-coin levels of 1868 and 1869. The expanded output reflected growing collector demand at a moment when the Mint was also increasing proof production for other denominations, part of a general trend that would continue through the early 1870s before the Panic of 1873 started compressing sales. The 1870 is one of the more available Shield nickel proofs from the era and serves as an accessible entry point for collectors beginning a proof Shield nickel collection.

Surviving examples typically show strong mirror fields and sharp device detail. Cameo contrast is available on coins struck from fresh dies, and the higher original mintage means more PR66 and above coins survive in proportion to the total population. Heritage Auctions regularly offers certified examples in upper proof grades, with prices reflecting the date's relative availability compared to the 1866-1869 transition years. The 1870 is often one of the first dates Shield nickel proof collectors acquire after the easier later dates (1879-1883) have been completed.

The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in February 1870, prohibiting the denial of voting rights on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Hiram Revels became the first Black man to sit in the United States Senate that same month, taking the seat Jefferson Davis had abandoned to serve as Confederate president. Proof sets for the year shipped to subscribers during a moment when the federal government was simultaneously expanding its coinage of base metal and its constitutional commitments to civil rights, and the 1870 proofs carry that historical weight alongside their technical preservation of Longacre's design.