Three Cent Pieces: A 19th Century Oddity

The United States saw a lot of growth through the early to mid 19th century that culminated in a new coin denomination in 1851 for a very specific new need for pocket change. The 1850s also experienced the beginning of a shift away from the intrinsic value in the metal content of a coin and to the perceived value of the US dollar (a concept called debasing).

These new three cent pieces first went into circulation in 1851 and were minted in one variety or another until 1889. The shift in value to which I alluded was the silver 3 cent piece containing less than 3 cents worth of silver (ten 3 cent pieces or 30 cents of trimes contain 6 grams of silver; three 10 cent pieces or 30 cents of dimes contain 7.2 grams of silver) and the cent in the transition from the large cent to the small cent in 1857.

There were three types of silver pieces and one type made of nickel in this 38 year series. These 4 types make up my favorite US coin denomination of which many people have never even heard.

Why Did the United States Issue These?

The short answer - Congress approved these for easy purchase of newly authorized 3 cent stamps.

The longer answer - during the years before these coins were minted, there were copper half cents (23mm / 0.9 inches) and large cents (27.5mm / over an inch) that were big whereas silver or gold coins in larger denominations which were easier to handle and had intrinsic value. Half dimes or 5 cent pieces (15.5mm / 0.6 inches) were the smallest silver coins circulating at the time. Large cents and half cents didn't circulate well and were disliked by many for the size. Half dimes were small but circulated well.

At the same time, there was an increase in domestic gold production caused by the gold rush and other small silver foreign coins that regularly circulated through the country and made the valuation of silver variable and copper unfavorable. Finally, the price of a stamp dropped from 5 to 3 cent stamps and made this denomination viable for use. That combination of factors lead to congress authorizing this denomination in early 1851.

Silver Pieces

US coins were either silver (as with the half dime through dollar) or copper (large cent and half cent) when the new denomination was first issued in 1851. The new three cent piece was minuscule and wafer thin but fell in line with the mint practices at the time.

There have been several nicknames for these coins since their issue but my favorite is "trime", a term that has been attributed to this denomination by the Treasury since it was first issued. Another useful term when looking at these coins or potentially buying them is 3CS (3 cent silver) as a common abbreviation used in coin grading and in coin shop inventories.

Type 1: 1851 through 1853

The first 3CS issued was 14mm in diameter and 0.80 grams. Interestingly, this coin was 75% silver and 25% copper which was a departure from the standard for the rest of the US coins of the time at 90% silver and 10% copper. The obverse (heads side) featured a star with no lines around the outside. The reverse (tails side) featured the roman numbers for 3 within a "C" without anything else in it.

This was the only type issued by a mint other than Philadelphia. In 1851, New Orleans also made about 3/4 of a million trimes for circulation.

Type 2: 1854 through 1858

The next type to be released changed the composition back to the standard 90% silver and 10% copper. The diameter remained 14mm but the weight was reduced to 0.75 grams. The design of the obverse was changed to add two lines around the star. The reverse had an olive leaf sprig added above the III within the C and a bundle of 3 arrows added below the three and within the C.

Type 3: 1859 through 1873

The final type only had a minimal difference from the type 2 - the star on the obverse was reduced from having two lines around it to just one line. All other features stayed the same including the composition, weight, and size.

This type featured the major die variety which was the 1862 over date that had a 1 first added to the die before being corrected to the 2. There were remnants of the 1 that are visible under slight magnification.

Nickel Pieces

The Treasury started to issue a new composition in addition to the silver coins to deal with the lack of circulating coinage that started during the civil war which was exacerbated by the public hoarding the silver pieces.

Unlike the three types of silver pieces, there was only one type of nickel pieces issued through the entire production between 1865 and 1889.

This type was 17.9mm and 1.94 grams for the entire production run. The composition was 75% copper and 25% nickel.

There were a few die varieties in the nickel pieces with two different "3" in the 1873 - one was more open and the other was more closed in the gap between the points in the 3. There was also an 1887 over date with a 7 over a 6 in the die.

Making a Collection

The three cent piece has really captured and maintained my attention for the past 15 years. My personal collecting style has focused on type sets (1 example of each major type from a country). As an exception to that style, I have been working to build a complete set of both 3 cent silver and nickel pieces. I have progressed much better with the nickel pieces because the key dates (1884 and 1885) are still available on occasion for less than $400. The silver pieces have proven much more difficult for me because they are seldom found among the coin stores (online or local) for prices that are in my budget. Most of the silver coins issued between 1863 and the end of the minting were melted in 1873 so the ones that are found are almost all well over $500 with many reaching into several thousand dollars each. I suspect I will continue to work on this collection for decades to come.

A type set of the four different 3 cent pieces could easily be collected for $100-$200 in low grade and for just a few hundred dollars in "Extremely Fine" condition or better.

Another path you can take when collecting 3 cent pieces is to look for errors and varieties. With the series not lasting for less than 40 years, there weren't that many common errors. There are still some that exist and the picture below shows a couple I've been able to add to my collection.

Conclusion

If you're at all like me and you enjoy adding some uniqueness to your collection, you should add this strange and short-lived denomination to your collection. Depending on what you prefer for coins, you can get great representative examples in your collection for a very reasonable investment.

These coins also make great conversation pieces with new collectors and people that appreciate historical stories. We added an entirely new denomination to the US coinage to facilitate easy change when buying postage - that's quite an adaptation.

Now that you know a little more about these "fish scale" size silver coins and first US nickel coins, I hope you're able to add these to your collection. Good luck and keep an eye out!