In 1880, the US Mint struck 3,955 Proof and 16,000 Mint State Shield Nickels. Interestingly, those numbers represent the second-highest mintage of the series for Proof coins, and the lowest mintage of the series for circulation issue pieces.
Although they had a higher mintage, the Mint State coins fetch a far bigger premium in today’s marketplace. For example, just this January an NGC AU 55 example sold for nearly $4,000 while an NGC PF 66★ brought only $1,020 in the same auction.
See article here.
