THREE CENT
NICKEL THREE CENT PIECES 1865-1889
KEY DATES: 1883, 1884, 1885, 1887, and 1882
ERRORS & VARIETIES:
1865 DDO Multiple versions of the lettering
1865 RPM – Multiple versions – see photo of one example in the video
1865 MISPLACED DATE! The top 5 are also in the Dentil detail along the bottom edge below the date
1866 DDO Lettering and Hair
1866 RPM Strong doubling of date!
1869 RPM – 1 & 8 Strong doubling
1869 REPUNCHED DATE Two clear sets of dates over each other
1869 DDR Ribbon doubled
1870 Repunched date & doubling of letters
1870 MISPLACED DATE! Tops of 1 & 0 sticking up from dentil on the bottom
1870 MISPLACED DATE, DDR numbers in the dentil, doubling of leaves and features
1871 TDO!! Tripling of USA & Liberty!
1873 Close 3 – Repunched Date 1 & 8
1875 MISPLACED DATE!! See the video for this image!! Front of Neck!#1Sticking out of Liberty’s neck!!
1881 Repunched Date this thing is a sloppy mess! Looks like post-Mint (PM to Numismatists) but was minted this way!! Check the book!
1887 OVERDATE! 1887 was punched over 1886
1887 Proof OVERDATE! Same as above
1888 MISPLACED DATE! A couple 8’s sticking up from Dentil
The copper-nickel three-cent piece, often called
a three-cent nickel piece or three-cent nickel was
designed by US Mint Chief Engraver James B.
Longacre and struck by the United States Bureau
of the Mint from 1865 to 1889. It was initially popular,
but its place in commerce was supplanted by the
five-cent piece or nickel.
​
The three-cent nickel piece initially circulated well
but became less popular when the five-cent nickel
was introduced in 1866, a larger, more convenient coin,
with a value of five cents better fitting the decimal
system. After 1870, most years saw low annual mintages
for the three-cent nickel, and in 1890 Congress abolished it. The last were struck in 1889; many were melted down to coin more five-cent pieces. The issue is not widely collected, and prices for rare dates remain low by the standards of American collectible coinage.
Please check out my Three
Cent Nickel Piece YouTube video: