1873 Open 3

Partway through 1873, Mint officials ordered the date punch modified across every denomination the Philadelphia Mint struck that year. The original Closed 3 punch produced a numeral whose upper and lower curves nearly met in the center, creating a digit that could be mistaken for an 8 at a casual glance. The modification opened the loops of the 3 and eliminated the ambiguity. Every 1873 United States coin (cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, dollars, and gold pieces) received the same treatment, and each denomination produced a Closed 3 / Open 3 variety pair that collectors still track today.

The Open 3 is by far the more common 1873 Shield nickel. Per Jaime Hernandez (PCGS), the Open 3 is approximately ten times more abundant than the Closed 3, having been struck during the longer portion of the year after the initial Closed 3 dies were retired. PCGS estimates approximately 5,000 Open 3 survivors across all grades, with around 500 in MS60 or better and 100 at MS65 or better. The auction record is $15,600 for an MS67 sold by Stack's Bowers in June 2025. Uncirculated breakdowns point to roughly 300 to 350 coins at MS60 to MS63, 150 at MS64, 50 at MS65, and only about 10 at MS66 or finer.

The Coinage Act of 1873 was signed into law on February 12 of this year, ending production of the silver half dime, the three-cent silver, and the silver dollar in a single legislative stroke. The Shield nickel survived the cull intact, and its survival had real downstream consequences: with the half dime formally retired, the copper-nickel five-cent piece would handle all small-change commerce in that range without competition for the next seventeen years. The 1873 Open 3 is the first Shield nickel struck as the sole legal five-cent piece, and date-set collectors acquire it as the practical representation of the year over the scarcer Closed 3.