1870 Three Cent Patterns

About This Coin

Completing the denomination range of Barber's Standard Silver Patterns program, the 1870 Three Cent Patterns adapt the proposed unified design to the tiny silver three-cent piece — the "trime" in production since 1851 to facilitate postage stamp purchases. Produced at the Philadelphia Mint, these feature experimental obverse designs from the standard dollar template alongside various reverse compositions. A notable result of $23,000 in PR66 at Heritage Auctions demonstrates consistent demand across all 1870 standard silver pattern denominations. The three-cent piece occupied an unusual position — created for a specific postal purpose rather than general circulation — and by 1870 was competing with the copper-nickel three-cent piece introduced in 1865. Including the trime reflected Barber's commitment to comprehensive design coverage across every silver denomination. Like the half dime, the silver three-cent piece would be abolished by the Coinage Act of 1873, making these patterns among the last experimental designs for a denomination shortly ceasing to exist. They preserve what the trime might have looked like in Barber's unified design family.