J-1691 (J1691 5c) 1882 5c, PCGS PF64 BN. R-6. Shades of brown mixed with touches of green, yellow, and red adorn the obverse of this proof 1882 nickel pattern, which was struck with a plain edge. The reverse is more uniformly red-brown with touches of light green toning. A couple of small marks on Liberty’s cheek probably keep this coin from a gem grade. The reverse is free of distracting marks. Except for Liberty’s eyebrow, the strike is strong on both sides.

The obverse shows the Liberty Head designed by Charles Barber for the nickel. It has thirteen stars surrounding the head with the date below. It is struck in copper using the design type that was adopted for regular use in 1883 except for slight differences in the positions of the stars. The reverse shows an open wreath of cotton and corn that encloses the Roman numeral five. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM are around the border. It is the “Without Cents” style used only in 1883. Later in 1883 the word CENTS was added below the wreath to prevent the fraud of gold plated nickels being passed as five dollar gold pieces. The motto was moved to the top below STATES OF.

The coin’s rarity is R-H6, which means that 13 to 20 pieces exist in all grades. The NGC population report shows 1 in PF64BN with 3 better.