Three-Cent Nickel

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.

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.

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

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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!