1867 Three Cent Patterns

About This Coin

Struck at the Philadelphia Mint during the second year of the Reconstruction Era pattern program, these 1867 three-cent pieces tested post-war concepts for a denomination existing in both silver and nickel versions simultaneously. The silver trime had served since 1851, while the nickel three-cent piece was added in 1865 to address wartime small-change shortages. The 1867 patterns explored whether these parallel denominations might be consolidated or redesigned, testing compositions including nickel and aluminum. A notable auction result of $12K in PR64 at Stack's Bowers confirms collector interest. The three-cent denomination uniquely occupied two compositions at once, creating a redundancy that Mint officials recognized needed resolution. These patterns document experimentation preceding the eventual discontinuation of the silver trime in 1873, when the Coinage Act consolidated the denomination into the nickel version alone. They also reflect the broader Reconstruction ambition to rationalize American coinage, eliminating redundancies that had proliferated during the wartime emergency.