Moneta
Registered: August 2005
Location: Arizona USA
Posts: 2,362
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Virtually no wear on this Type I Three Cents example, which is in need of professional cleaning. 11.4 M minted. Luster still glints through the grime. Update: this coin was submitted for conservation to the service at NGC. I'll re-post the photo, keeping this one posted. It looks better and came back as AU 58, about as good as one could expect from what you see here.
3 Cent Silver Facts:
This tiny silver coin is also known as a "Trime" or a "Fish-scale". The odd denomination is tied to the Postal rates at the time, which were also the justification for the Gold Three-Dollar Coin. Beginning in 1865, this type overlapped with the Nickel Three Cent Coins and the production of the Trimes decreased gradually until the type was ended in 1873.
Three sub-types exist of the silver Three Cents. Type 1, issued from 1851 to 1853, shows the obverse star with a single outline. After 1853 two extra outlines were added to the star to signify a reduction in weight, resulting in the Type 2 version that lasted until 1858. In 1859, one of the extra outlines was dropped, creating the third and final sub-type, the Type 3 version.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Designer: James Barton Longacre
Diameter: 14.3 millimeters
Metal content:
Silver - 75%
Copper - 25%
Weight: 12.4 grains (0.8 grams)
Edge: Plain
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