Three-cent silver
The three-cent silver was struck by the Mint of the United States for circulation from 1851 to 1872, and as a proof coin in 1873. It was the first American coin to contain metal valued significantly less than its face value. The coin was abolished by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1873, and is now in the hands of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. It is now worth about $1.5 million, making it one of the most valuable pieces of silver in the world.
About Three-cent silver in brief
The three-cent silver was struck by the Mint of the United States for circulation from 1851 to 1872, and as a proof coin in 1873. It was the first American coin to contain metal valued significantly less than its face value, and the first silver coin not to be legal tender for an unlimited amount. It circulated well while other silver coinage was being hoarded and melted, but once that problem was addressed, became less used. The series is not widely collected, but the pieces remain inexpensive relative to other U.S. coins of similar scarcity. The three- cent denomination was chosen as it coordinated well with the six and twelve cent values often assigned to the Spanish coins, which were the bulk of what was left in commerce for small change. The coin saw heavy use until Congress acted again in 1853, making other silver coins lighter, which kept them in circulation. With the return of other denominations to circulation, the three-Cent silver saw less use, and its place in commerce was lost with the economic chaos of the American Civil War, which led to hoarding of all gold and silver coins. The highest-value American coin actually circulating that was worth less than the quarter eagle was the half-dollar-sized copper cent, which saw no use in much of the country because of its lack of legal tender status. The coin was abolished by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1873, and is now in the hands of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
It is now worth about $1.5 million, making it one of the most valuable pieces of silver in the world. The U. S. Mint has been striking silver coins since the 1790s, but they did not always circulate due to fluctuations in the price of the metal. By early 1849, most of the silver coins in circulation were small coins of the Spanish colonial real, including the levy and fip, which often passed for twelve and six cents respectively in the Eastern United States. The mint accepted them as payment at a slightly lower figure, but even so, lost money on the transactions as many of the pieces were lightweight through wear. In 1850, New York Senator Daniel S. Dickinson introduced legislation for a 3-cent piece that would offer it in exchange for the Spanish silver, which would be valued at eight parts silver. The new coin would weigh three-tenths as much as the dime, but would take the government’s losses in redeeming the debasement in redemption to cover the losses. Early in 1849,. Congress authorized a gold dollar to help bridge the gap. In the Western United States, the silver dime and half dime were accepted as the equivalent of theSilver dime andhalf dime, although the Spanish pieces contained more silver. By 1848, the value of gold relative to silver had dropped, and it was profitable to export American silver coins, sell them as bullion, and use the payment in gold to buy more U.N. coins.
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This page is based on the article Three-cent silver published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
