One economist has proposed that we scrap our current coinage system and replace the nickel, dime, and quarter with coins like 3-cent, 11-cent, and 37-cent coins!
The theory is that these denominations correspond with a more “efficient” coinage combination given coin usage for transactions. By the way, in this proposed system, we would still have the 1-cent coin.
So what do you think about this?
I don’t know how much you or I would like using 11-cent and 37-cent coins (it could get kinda complicated when adding up our change from the jar, huh?), but did you know our country has already had a 3-cent coin?
It’s true!
- Our 3-cent coin circulated from 1851 to 1889; one version was produced with nickel, the other silver.
- It was popular for postage transactions and served most of its purpose that way.
- Numismatists generally regard the 3-cent coin as an “odd denomination.”
Here’s more about the 3-cent coin and 4 other unusual types of coins worth collecting.
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek. I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
