1870 Shield Nickel

What we're running into here is the difficulty of grading from photographs. It is as much about understanding images themselves - the photographic process and what does and doesn't translate - as it is about understanding the individual coin issue. Not everybody's capable of creating "perfect" coin images, so you have to take grading opinions with a grain of salt. Here's how we'll approach this:

Below I'm posting a couple images of a well-struck Mint State 1870 (PCGS 65), imaged with sufficient quality to reliably grade from. It's as much about the quality of color and implied luster, as it is about the sheer sharpness of the pics. The scrollwork and upper part of the design are the high points; on the reverse, your best bet for catching wear early is the stars. However, all of these are also areas which are affected by weak strikes, so there's still a level of subjective thinking in the grading process.

See what you can - using your own eyes with your coin in-hand - observe to differentiate your coin from the one I'm posting. One thing I immediately noticed, which I hadn't before, is what looks like a sizable break in the obverse die of your coin down near 4:00 below the last leaf. If that's a chunk out of the die, it makes for a very interesting feature given its' size.

Yes, it's a pretty common location for die cracks with this issue. Note they're not the same crack, indicating two differing dies.

AU53

I look for ware on the Stars on the Reverse and on the horizontal shield lines and leaves on the obverse. AU50+ should have full stars on the reverse. There looks to be ware on the horizontal lines and several of the leaves. Definitely better than XF but no better than AU50-AU53 IMO.

I think it could grade AU-58. It seems to have much more luster than what I often see in the lower AU grades.

Much betterer.

I love the die cracks, and the chunk at 4:00 is likely big enough to add value to a real fan of the series. With the new images, I wouldn't be floored if a TPG called this one Mint State. I don't see a whole lot of evidence of circulation - the stars are crisp and any evident wear on the obverse could be a function of strike, exacerbated by the extensive cracking. That die was nearly terminal.

At worst this is a slider. I will call it MS62. Great coin! Really dig the die cracks!
The new pics are rockin BTW!

Dont think thats from a crack in the die, most likely a chip out of the die