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Sale 13
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Lot 131
1851 Silver Three Cents. PCGS graded MS-64. A pretty example of this first year of issue, the obverse is mostly silvery-gray with flecks of gold around the periphery and iridescent colors mixed in too. Similar on the reverse, with less color and nice, satiny luster. Struck from clashed dies, as are most, and with strong stars on the reverse and just a bit of weakness at the centers.
Here we begin the Dr. Benson Collection of Three Cent Silvers. The majority of the coins from his date set were purchased on August 30, 1944 from J. H. Nunn, and east coast coin dealer. We note the date of August 30, 1944 as the last time the coins from this set traded hands.
How did this curious denomination come about? Well, it all started because the Post Office was lowering the prepaid rate for a letter to 3¢ from 5¢. Further complications were unfolding in the wildly fluctuating price of gold and silver due to the massive gold inflows from the California creeks and hillsides. The natural effect of all this gold was that its price went down relative to silver, hence silver coins actually were worth more than their face value. People naturally figured this out, and soon all silver coins were hoarded from circulation or melted and sold. Can you imagine the frustration? As soon as the mints would produce silver coins, they would disappear, off to be melted. Naturally, few people gave silver to the mints for coinage, and what little was produced was either hoarded or bought by bullion dealers and melted and sold to the Caribbean Islands or Europe for a sizable profit.
Commerce adjusted, as is always does, by using a variety of substitutes for small change. During the early 1850s, a citizen would typically encounter a mix of United States gold coins, Mexican silver, large cents and half cents and "Shinplasters" (which were private or state bank notes and merchant's private scrip of all kinds). The large cents and half cents were extremely unpopular, and if a person went to purchase a 5¢ cigar with a Mexican silver dollar (let alone a gold dollar) being offered 95 large cents as change would have been risking a fight! (Breen's Encyclopedia). Merchants demanded a solution. The Shinplasters were not always backed by their issuer, and soon became filthy rags after limited circulation. The Mexican silver usually had to be weighed by merchants (to make sure of its value) and this slowed even the simplest of transactions from penny candies to whiskey shots. Like the Shinplasters, the large copper cents and half cents soon became dirty and were frowned upon when offered as change.
A solution to the crisis was offered by Senator Dickinson, who drafted a bill proposing a 3¢ coin made of 75% silver and 25% copper, which had a melt value then well below its 3¢ face value, which would hopefully eliminate hoarding and make smelting and exporting unprofitable. His bill passed on March 3, 1851, to be effective June 30 of that year. Mint Director Robert Patterson chose the simple design by Longacre, as the low relief would extend die life and require less pressure in coining to strike up the design elements.
Large numbers were minted, and they circulated widely, replacing some of the smaller Mexican silver coins and were preferable to Shinplasters or the bulky copper coins of the day. The little silver coins soon became known as "fish scales" for their size and silver reflectivity.
By 1853 Congress acted to reduce the silver content in coins from half dimes to half dollars (silver dollars were left out of this adjustment for sentimental reasons) to get the silver value below the face value, and thus allow small silver coins circulate again. Congress also adjusted the silver content of the little 3¢ coin, raising it to 90% in line with other silver coins of the era, and this no doubt eased smelting and refining operations at the mints. To note the change in silver content, Longacre proposed outlining the existing obverse star with two extra outer lines, and placing a small sprig above the denomination and a cluster of arrows below on the reverse, which took place at the beginning of 1854.
Additional changes were made in 1859 to improve striking quality, and make the lettering more narrow and further apart, under the influence of Anthony C. Paquet.
Naturally, as the 3¢ coin was widely accepted and recognized, a large number of counterfeits surfaced during the Civil War, most of these dated from 1859 to 1862, with 1861 most commonly encountered. These counterfeits were made from a pale gray metal which resembles German Silver (tin, zinc, nickel and copper) and were generally crude in their execution, but apparently good enough to pass easily. This is another fascinating chapter for the advanced numismatist to study.
Hence, these little silver coins played a major role in the 1851 economy, and remain popular today with collectors desiring top quality pieces for their sets.
Estimated Value $300 - 350.
From the Dr. Benson Collection and purchased from Ira S. Reed on February 26, 1944 for $1.50.
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| Realized $426 |
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