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Three-cent piece (United States coin)
Encyclopedia
| Three Cent Silver (United States) | |
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| Value: | 0.03 US dollars United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... |
| Mass: | (1851–53) 0.8g Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... (1854–73) 0.75g Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... |
| Diameter: | 14 mm |
| Thickness: | 1.55 mm |
| Edge: | plain |
| Composition: | (1851–53) 75% Ag Silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal... ,25% Cu Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish... (1854–73) 90% Ag Silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal... ,10% Cu Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish... |
| Obverse | |
| Design: | Shield on six sided star |
| Designer: | James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre was an American engraver, who was the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 until his death. He succeeded Christian Gobrecht in the position as Chief Engraver upon Gobrecht's death... |
| Design Date: | 1851 |
| Reverse | |
| Design: | Roman numeral III |
| Designer: | James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre was an American engraver, who was the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 until his death. He succeeded Christian Gobrecht in the position as Chief Engraver upon Gobrecht's death... |
| Design Date: | 1851 |
| Three Cent Nickel (United States) | |
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| Value: | 0.03 US dollars United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... |
| Mass: | 1.94 g Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... |
| Diameter: | 17.9 mm |
| Thickness: | mm |
| Edge: | plain |
| Composition: | 75% Cu Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish... , 25% Ni Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... |
| Obverse | |
| Design: | Liberty Head Liberty (goddess) Goddesses named for and representing the concept Liberty have existed in many cultures, including classical examples dating from the Roman Empire and some national symbols such as the British "Britannia" or the Irish "Kathleen Ni Houlihan".... |
| Designer: | James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre was an American engraver, who was the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 until his death. He succeeded Christian Gobrecht in the position as Chief Engraver upon Gobrecht's death... |
| Design Date: | 1865 |
| Reverse | |
| Design: | Roman numeral III |
| Designer: | James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre James Barton Longacre was an American engraver, who was the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 until his death. He succeeded Christian Gobrecht in the position as Chief Engraver upon Gobrecht's death... |
| Design Date: | 1865 |
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
three cent piece was a unit of currency equaling 3/100th of a United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. The mint produced two different three-cent coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s: the three-cent silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and the three-cent nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
. Its purchasing power in 1851 would be equivalent to $ today.
History
The three cent coin has an unusual history. It was proposed in 1851 both as a result of the decrease in postage rates from five cents to three and to answer the need for a small-denomination, easy-to-handle coin. The three cent silver featured a shield on a six sided star on the obverse and the Roman numeral III on the reverse. The coin was initially composed of 75% silver and 25% copperCopper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
to ensure that the coin would be considered real currency yet not worth melting down for the silver. The coins were physically the lightest weight coins ever minted by the United States, weighing only 4/5 of a gram and with a diameter smaller than a modern dime and only slightly greater than the smallest gold dollar
Gold dollar
The gold dollar was a United States dollar coin produced from 1849 to 1889. Composed of 90% pure gold, it was the smallest denomination of gold currency ever produced by the United States federal government...
s. The silver coins were known as "fishscales". The term "trimes" is often used today for these coins but that was first used by the director of the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
(James Ross Snowden
James Ross Snowden
James Ross Snowden was treasurer of the United States Mint from 1847 to 1850, and director of the Mint from 1853 to 1861. A notable numismatist of his day, Snowden contributed to such publications as Bouvier's Law Dictionary as well as publishing several numismatic works of his own.-Published...
) at the time of their production.
Starting in 1854, the three cent silver had its silver metal content raised to 90% in order to encourage circulation. At the same time, its weight was reduced to 3/4 of a gram by reducing thickness. The coin went through a design change at the time such that two lines were now used to border the star on the obverse and an olive sprig was added above and a bundle of arrows below the Roman numeral III on the reverse. A final design change occurred in 1859 because of striking problems: the number of lines bordering the star was reduced to one, and the font was made taller and slightly more narrow. The size of the date numerals also varied through the years, with 1860-1863 featuring the smallest date numerals of any US coin. In 1851 only, the New Orleans Mint
New Orleans Mint
The New Orleans Mint operated in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a branch mint of the United States Mint from 1838 to 1861 and from 1879 to 1909. During its years of operation, it produced over 427 million gold and silver coins of nearly every American denomination, with a total face value of over...
struck some of the silver three-cent coins. It was minted from 1851 to 1873 at the Philadelphia Mint
Philadelphia Mint
The Philadelphia Mint was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national mint a main priority after the ratification of the Constitution of...
. In the later years there were very small mintages and the 1873 issue was in proof
Proof coinage
Proof coinage means special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies and for archival purposes, but nowadays often struck in greater numbers specially for coin collectors . Many countries now issue them....
state only. However, an earlier date silver three cent piece can be bought in worn condition for a relatively low price. The silver three cent piece (along with the silver dollar, the half dime, and the two cent piece) was discontinued by the Coinage Act of 1873.
Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
era silver shortages led to widespread hoarding
Hoarding
Hoarding or caching is a general term for a behavior that leads people or animals to accumulate food or other items in anticipation of future need or scarcity.-Animal behavior:...
of all silver coins, and most one and five cent coins as well. Various alternatives were tried, including encapsulated postage and privately issued coinage. The Treasury eventually settled on issuing fractional currency. These small denomination (1 to 50 cent) notes were never popular, as they were easy to lose and unwieldy in large amounts. The answer to this issue was reached in 1865 with the introduction of the three cent nickel coin. This coin was composed of copper and nickel and was larger than the silver coin of the same denomination. The coin featured a Liberty head obverse and another Roman numeral 'III' reverse. The three cent nickel was never intended as a permanent issue, only as stopgap measure until the wartime hoarding ceased. However, production of the coin continued until 1889, 16 years after the three cent silver was discontinued. One reason often given for the discontinuation of the three cent nickel piece in 1889 is that this coin and the dime
Dime (United States coin)
The dime is a coin 10 cents, one tenth of a United States dollar, labeled formally as "one dime". The denomination was first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The dime is the smallest in diameter and is the thinnest of all U.S...
(10 cent silver coin) were identical in diameter, and hence caused confusion upon the introduction of mechanical vending machines. Another factor may have been that in 1883 the letter postage rate dropped to 2 cents, thus removing the justification for this coin.
The three cent nickel was only minted in Philadelphia and, except for a larger date on the 1889 pieces, had no design differences throughout its run. Over the course of the series mintage declined, and some of the dates are scarce. But, with an 1865 mintage of over eleven million, a type piece can be inexpensively obtained.
Mintage figures
Three Cent (silver), 1851-1873- 1851 P - 5,447,400
- 1851 O - 720,000
- 1852 P - 18,663,500
- 1853 P - 11,400,000
- 1854 P - 671,000
- 1855 P - 139,000
- 1856 P - 1,458,000
- 1857 P - 1,042,000
- 1858 P - 1,603,700
- 1859 P - 364,200
- 1860 P - 286,000
- 1861 P - 497,000
- 1862 P - 343,000
- 1863 P - 21,000
- 1864 P - 12,000
- 1865 P - 8,000
- 1866 P - 22,000
- 1867 P - 4,000
- 1868 P - 3,500
- 1869 P - 4,500
- 1870 P - 3,000
- 1871 P - 3,400
- 1872 P - 1,000
- 1873 P - 600 (ALL PROOF)
Three Cent (nickel), 1865-1889
- 1865 P - 11,382,000
- 1866 P - 4,801,000
- 1867 P - 3,915,000
- 1868 P - 3,252,000
- 1869 P - 1,604,000
- 1870 P - 1,335,000
- 1871 P - 604,000
- 1872 P - 862,000
- 1873 P - 1,173,000
- 1874 P - 790,000
- 1875 P - 228,000
- 1876 P - 162,000
- 1877 P - About 510 (ALL PROOF)
- 1878 P - 2,350 (ALL PROOF)
- 1879 P - 38,000
- 1880 P - 21,000
- 1881 P - 1,077,000
- 1882 P - 22,200
- 1883 P - 4,000
- 1884 P - 1,700
- 1885 P - 1,000
- 1886 P - 4,290 (ALL PROOF)
- 1887 P - 5,000
- 1888 P - 36,500
- 1889 P - 18,190