The United States three cent piece was a unit of currency equaling 3/100th of a United States dollar. The mint produced two different three cent coins, the 3 Cent Silver and 3 Cent Nickel.

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.

Civil War era silver shortages led to widespread hoarding 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.

This 1866 Silver Three Cent Piece recently sold on eBay for less than $10.00

Three Cent Nickel - Closing Soon

**1868 THREE CENT NICKEL**

US $5.99 (0 Bid)
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1873 NICKEL THREE CENT PIECE XF WELL STRUCK!!!

US $31.89 (10 Bids)
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1865 3 Cent Three Cent Nickle Coin United States

US $25.00
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1874 Rare Low Mintage US Three Cent Coin FREE USA Mail

US $6.00 (13 Bids)
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Very Nice 1872 Three Cent Piece NICE!!

US $12.05 (11 Bids)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 18:37:42 PDT
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VERY NICE 1866 Three Cent!

US $10.10 (6 Bids)
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1867 THREE CENT NICKEL- SCARCE !! BETTER DATE !! #D828

US $3.99 (0 Bid)
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1865 Three-Cent Nickel Piece (First Year of Issue)

US $14.95 (0 Bid)
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1874 BU THREE CENT 3c NICKEL CHOICEST~~~~~OLD RARE COIN

US $159.99
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1868 Three Cent Nickel Original Ungraded NR

US $3.69 (3 Bids)
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Three Cent Nickel - Just Listed

1868 United States Nickel Three Cent Piece Coin

US $9.95 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Sep-08-2010 14:30:03 PDT
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1873 US NICKEL THREE CENT PIECE 3C ONLY 390,00 MINTED !

US $0.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-10-2010 12:38:50 PDT
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1873 Three Cent Piece - Nickel

US $9.95 (0 Bid)
End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 11:58:31 PDT
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1866 THREE CENT NICKEL WHOLESALE C6742

US $15.00
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1889 THREE CENT NICKEL * CHOICE BU PROOF NGC PR62 *

US $465.95
End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 6:55:06 PDT
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1879 THREE CENT NICKEL * VERY CHOICE BU NEAR GEM BU *

US $451.95
End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 6:53:54 PDT
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1865 THREE CENT NICKEL * ORIGINAL CHOICE to GEM BU *

US $230.95
End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 6:52:47 PDT
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1865 THREE CENT NICKEL * LUSTROUS VERY CH GEM BU MS *

US $475.00
End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 6:50:35 PDT
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1865 THREE CENT NICKEL * VERY CHOICE BU NEAR GEM *

US $206.95
End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 6:49:31 PDT
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1869 THREE CENT nickel! #6-14J

US $9.99
End Date: Friday Sep-10-2010 5:43:13 PDT
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1865 Nickel 3 Cent Piece

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 stop gap measure until the wartime hoarding ceased. However, production of the coin continued until 1889, 16 years after the three cent silver was discontinued.

The best place to purchase 3 Cent Nickel is at eBay. Most of these coins are very expensive in the better grades and rare years. However, if you just want one or two for your collection look for 3 cent pieces dated from about 1865 to 1876 and 1881 in the lower grades of about good, good or very good. You should be able to find a specimen for your collection in the $10.00 to $25.00 range.

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