Numismatic News reader Greg Bennick has discovered a mated pair of uncirculated 1867 Shield nickels under-described in auction as a lesser error type. The error pair includes planchets intended for both a copper-nickel alloy 3-cent and a Shield nickel 5-cent piece, but neither the original grading service nor auction house mentioned that a 3-cent planchet was involved. This error combination involving the planchets of two different denominations elevated the coin to a far rarer error type than if it was a mated pair of like planchets. Mated pairs are rare on United States coinage but nowhere near that of this multi-denominational mated pair.
Even more unusual – not only were the two pieces struck together, but the 3-cent piece had been struck previously by Shield nickel
