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Three-Cent Silvers (Trimes)

James B. Longacre designed the three-cent silver, or trime, and the coin's origins lie in one of the more practical pieces of legislation Congress ever passed regarding coinage. The Act of March 3, 1851 created the denomination specifically to facilitate the purchase of postage stamps, which had been fixed at three cents since 1845. Before the trime, buying a stamp with a half dime meant getting two cents back in copper, an annoying transaction that post offices handled thousands of times a day. Longacre, who had been Chief Engraver since 1844, produced a small coin with an unusual obverse: a six-pointed star with a federal shield at its center, surrounded by the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The reverse carried the Roman numeral III inside a large C-shaped ornament. The design was unlike anything else in the American series, deliberately so. The coin was tiny, just 14 millimeters in diameter, the smallest coin the Mint had ever produced, and the distinctive star motif made it immediately identifiable despite its size.

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1851–1873 Years struck
48 Date / variety entries
Philadelphia, New Orleans Mints

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Key date Semi-key Variety Proof Regular
Date Variety Mintage Price Guide Estimates Classification CK #
G VG F VF EF AU MS
1851 5,447,400 $35$40$48$61$81$135$189 REGULAR CK-874
1851-O 720,000 $53$61$74$106$163$305$560 SEMI-KEY CK-876
1852 18,663,500 $35$40$48$61$81$135$189 REGULAR CK-877
1853 11,400,000 $35$40$48$61$81$135$189 REGULAR CK-879
1854 671,000 $46$53$57$77$116$183$285 SEMI-KEY CK-880
1855 139,000 $61$81$94$126$183$325$515 KEY CK-883
1856 1,458,000 $46$53$57$68$101$189$295 REGULAR CK-885
1857 1,042,000 $46$53$57$68$101$189$295 REGULAR CK-887
1858 1,604,000 $46$53$57$68$101$189$295 REGULAR CK-888
1859 365,000 $46$53$57$61$74$142$183 REGULAR CK-890
1860 287,000 $46$53$57$61$74$142$183 REGULAR CK-892
1861 498,000 $43$46$53$61$74$142$176 REGULAR CK-895
1862 343,000 $43$46$53$61$74$142$176 REGULAR CK-897
1862 2 Over 1 $46$53$61$81$94$155$196 VARIETY CK-898
1863 21,000 $415$435$470$515$605$810$1,135 KEY CK-900
1864 12,000 $415$435$490$515$605$735$940 KEY CK-903
1865 8,000 $415$435$450$515$650$875$1,350 KEY CK-912
1866 22,000 $415$435$470$535$650$875$1,290 KEY CK-921
1867 4,000 $415$435$450$515$690$940$1,350 KEY CK-926
1868 3,500 $560$650$810$1,090$1,470$2,005$3,655 KEY CK-934
1869 9 Over 8 VARIETY CK-941
1870 3,000 $360$415$435$515$625$770$940 KEY CK-944
1871 3,400 $360$415$435$535$770$845$875 KEY CK-950
1872 1,000 $560$650$715$990$1,410$2,005$2,230 KEY CK-956
Date Variety Mintage Price Guide Estimates Classification CK #
G (PR) VG (PR) F (PR) VF (PR) EF (PR) AU (PR) MS (PR)
1851 KEY CK-875
1852 KEY CK-878
1854 KEY CK-881
1855 KEY CK-882
1856 KEY CK-884
1857 KEY CK-886
1858 210 KEY CK-889
1859 800 KEY CK-891
1860 1,000 KEY CK-893
1861 1,000 KEY CK-894
1862 550 KEY CK-896
1863 460 KEY CK-899
1863 3 Over 2 460 KEY CK-901
1864 470 KEY CK-902
1865 500 KEY CK-910
1866 725 KEY CK-920
1867 625 KEY CK-925
1868 600 KEY CK-929
1869 600 $790 KEY CK-935
1869 9 Over 8 600 KEY CK-940
1870 1,000 KEY CK-942
1871 960 KEY CK-953
1872 950 KEY CK-959
1873 600 $2,060 KEY CK-960