Three-Cent Nickel

thekittygirl (68)in #steemsilvergold • 5 years ago

Times were difficult during the American Civil War, which caused people to hoard silver money, including the silver three-cent piece. In an attempt to remedy the situation, Congress authorized the issuance of paper money, including one banknote that was worth three cents. The public hated the notes, as they quickly became ragged, dirty, and it took a wad of them to amount to anything.

To solve this problem, the idea was hatched to create a new three-cent piece made of nickel metal instead of silver, as was done for the aforementioned three-cent silver piece. So, this three-cent coin, made of nickel metal, became the "three-cent nickel." This coin was minted beginning in 1865 and continued until 1889.

^{• PHOTO BY ME •}

The coin I have in my collection was minted in 1866, so it is rather old, from the second year these were made. The coin is a little smaller in diameter than a modern five-cent nickel (17.9 mm -vs- 21.21 mm), thinner (1.15 mm -vs- 1.95 mm), and lighter (1.94 g -vs- 5.000 g). The composition is the same, though, being 75% copper and 25% nickel.

^{• PHOTO BY ME •}

The obverse (front) features Lady Liberty. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and the mint date appear in a circle around her.

^{• PHOTO BY ME •}

The reverse (back) of the coin features a large "III" (Roman numeral "3") encircled by a wreath. All of the coins in this series were minted in Philadelphia, so no mint mark was necessary.

My coin is slightly worn from circulation, but this is what an 1866 Three-Cent Nickel would look like in excellent condition:

^{• SOURCE: CoinCommunity.com •}

Several factors led to the demise of this coin.

First-Class postal rates were reduced from three cents to two cents, causing this coin to be less useful than before. (Imagine that happening in modern times, postage going down instead of up!)

Discovery of silver lodes in the western part of the US led to previously-hoarded silver coins coming back into circulation.

With silver dimes coming back into circulation, the size of the three-cent nickel was so close to that of the dime that care had to be taken to prevent fraud or accidental mis-changing.

Public transportation fares rose to five cents in many places instead of three, making the Five-Cent Nickel, which was first struck in 1866, more popular.

Whenever I think of old coins such as this, I often think of my grandparents, all of whom were born between 1876 and 1895, and wonder how many of these they used in their lifetimes! I can easily imagine one of my grandmothers or grandfathers being given a coin such as this and being sent to the market to purchase some flour and salt, being cautioned not to lose the two pennies change on the way back home!

😊

SOURCES
¹ Wikipedia: Three-Cent Nickel

^{a big hug to @enginewitty for designing the following personal banner for me 🤗}

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5 years ago in #steemsilvergold by thekittygirl (68)

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pixresteemer (65) 5 years ago

Congratz, your post has been resteemed and, who knows, will maybe appear in the next edition of the #dailyspotlights (Click on my face if you want to know more about me...)Check the rules of the Daily Spotlights if you want to nominate someone!Pixresteemer is also listed as promoter on The Steemians Directory

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xcountytravelers (65) 5 years ago

I just love your coin posts. I learn something new and it opens my mind up to the past.
Ren

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pocketechange (58) 5 years ago

I like seeing that you're into U.S. Coinage...

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vgc5000 (60) 5 years ago

OK, that's amazing! As a vintage and antique lover, I had NO idea there was every a 3 cent piece!

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enginewitty (72) 5 years ago

Never even seen those before, neat part of history and cool collection piece!

Posted using Partiko Android

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lizziesworld (64) 5 years ago

Interesting post indeed - what is the value of the coin today?

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thekittygirl (68) 5 years ago

Ah, I should have put that in the post! Thanks!
This coin would be worth USD $10–$20 in the condition it is in, maybe $30 at most.
Some of the uncirculated coins like this would be worth more, though!

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lizziesworld (64) 5 years ago

If coins could talk - what stories we would hear!

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sgbonus (70) 5 years ago

That's really cool that you have a coin like that. It must be so precious. Around how much would that be today?

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thekittygirl (68) 5 years ago

This coin would be worth USD $10–$20 in the condition it is in, maybe $30 at most.
Some of the uncirculated coins like this would be worth more, though!
Thanks for your comment! 😊

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watersnake101 (66) 5 years ago

That coin you have there is really old. You are lucky to have such a piece of history in your collection. I bet that coin has quite a good value now these days.

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sk43 (52) 5 years ago

Another great post Kittygirl.

I also think about a time when people used these old (to us) coins to buy things without thinking about it, the same way we do today with our current coins.

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kipswolfe (49) 5 years ago

This is very, very cool!

Do you have other money from that time period?

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