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Two Cent Coins And Three Cent Pieces

Two-cent coins?

Yes, the United States had a coin at one time with a denomination of two cents. And three cents, too.

Here's a little about both, 2-cent and 3-cent coins, including how much they're worth.


The two-cent coin is one of the shortest lived U.S. coins. It was only minted from 1864 to 1873.

The two-cent coin is the first coin to bear the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. This was mostly due to the large increase in religious sentiment during the Civil War.

The designer of this coin was James B. Longacre, and all 2-cent coins were minted in Philadelphia.

Here's how much two-cent coins are worth...

1873 Open 3 - $1,000.00 to $1,600.00
1873 Closed 3 - $1,200.00 to $1,500.00
1872 - $285.00 to $800.00
1871 - $28.00 to $160.00
1870 - $25.00 to $140.00
1869 - $22.00 to $110.00
1868 - $20.00 to $90.00
1867 - $18.00 to $65.00
1866 - $18.00 to $65.00
1865 - $18.00 to $65.00
1864 Large Motto - $18.00 to $65.00
1864 Small Motto - $120.00 to $650.00

1864-two-cent-coin-obverse.jpg 1864-2-cent-coin-reverse.jpg
More about two-cent coins here.


Three-Cent Piece
Another coin that most people aren't familiar with is the three cent piece.

Three cent coins were minted from 1851 to 1889. From 1851 to1873 they were made of 75% silver.

It's the smallest U.S. silver coin ever minted. I've owned a few of these, and boy are they tiny.

From 1865 to 1889, the composition was changed to copper-nickel and the coin became a little larger -- about the size of a dime.

The designer of both types of 3-cent coins was James B. Longacre, and all pieces were struck in Philadelphia.

Here's a little about their worth...

Nickel Three Cent Pieces
1888-1889 - $45.00 to $190.00
1882-1887 $175.00 to $300.00
1881 - $15.00 to $55.00
1879-1880 - $60.00 to $180.00
1878 Proof - $600.00
1877 Proof - $1,200.00
1876-1865 - $18.00 to $75.00

1888-nickel-3-cent-coin.png 1888-nickel-3-cent-coin.jpg


Silver Three Cent Pieces
1873 Proof - $825.00
1872-1863 - $300.00 to $550.00
1862-1859 - $25.00 to $150.00
1858-1851 - $25.00 to $250.00

1859-three-cent-coin-obverse.jpg 1859-3-cent-coin-reverse.jpg
More about three cent coins here.

Jay

I have been collecting and trading coins for years. Coin collecting is my hobby. I've done a lot of research about coins through the years.




  • Shannon D

    Wow! My grandmother gave me a box of coins she's had for a while and accidentally locked... the box was locked but was cardboard so we were able to open it, and found a whole bunch of coins. I kept trying to find a dime (since the 3 cent coin is EXACTLY the same size as a dime if you look at it...) from 1866 and they look nothing like this... so I typed in "1866 coin iii" and got this page. I was kind of surprised to see that similar coins are worth $300-500ish.... very cool.

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