Of Nickels and Half Dimes

The other day I was looking at my small coin collection and I noticed that I had an 1866 Indian Head Penny. I became interested in this penny that was almost 3 times as old as I was, and decided to do a search on the computer for the year 1866.  Among the things I found was information on another coin - the nickel.  I learned that prior to the 1860's America's 5 cent piece was called a Half Dime.  In the 1860's nickel mining interests succeeded in getting the government to coin a new 5 cent piece using the metal they mined.  The new coin featuring a nickel alloy was introduced.  The Half Dime faded into the past and the new kid on the block - the nickel - replaced it!