1851 Silver Three Cent Piece
Base
About This Coin
The 1851 Silver Three Cent Piece is a United States cent from the Silver Three Cent Pieces 1851-1873 series — the first year of the series. In 1851, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints with a combined mintage of 6.2 million. This ranks 21st of 23 years by total mintage, above the series median of 139,050. The obverse features a six-pointed star enclosing a Union shield and the reverse displays a Roman numeral III (three) within a large letter C. First year of the Silver Three-Cent Piece, introduced to facilitate purchasing the newly reduced three-cent postage stamps. The 1851-O is the only branch mint issue in the entire series. Struck in 75% silver, 25% copper, weighing 0.8 grams, 14.3 mm in diameter, with a plain edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $54 to $1.2K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $176K in PR66 grade at Stack's Bowers. Designed by James Barton Longacre.
Value Estimates
Values as of May 2026 — range across all strike types, reflecting typical grades (G-4 through MS-63). Coins in lower or exceptional grades may fall outside this range.
