Two And Three Cent

The Director of the Mint, James Pollock proposed the two-cent piece. During the Civil War. copper, along with other precious medals, were scarcely encountered. Pollock pushed for the introduction of a new two-cent piece that would, in his opinion, circulate with more regularity and with a resistance to hoarding. The first two-cent coin was produced in 1864 and was composed almost entirely of copper. By 1873, however, the two-cent denomination was abandoned entirely.

The US Mint used both nickel and silver for three cent production in the 1850s. The denomination was conceived as a way to facilitate the purchase of postage stamps, which were recently reduced in price from five to three cents. The three-cent silver was first minted in 1851 and featured an obverse design with a shield within a six-pointed star. The coin was composed initially of 75% silver and was the lightest coin ever produced by the mint. In 1854, the silver content was increased to 90%, which, by the 1860s, had the unintended consequence of nearly eliminating the coin from circulation as it was poached by hoarders. The three-cent nickel entered production in 1865 and was minted using the same design throughout its entire run. In 1873, the three-cent silver coin was discontinued by act of Congress and in 1889 the mint ceased production of the three-cent nickel as well.

Two and Three Cent coins

  • Two Cent

    This experimental short lived coin was born out of a shortage of ...

  • Three Cent SIlver

    A prime motivation behind the introduction of this unusual denomination coin was ...

  • Three Cent Nickel

    Although the silver three cent had been in circulation for 14 years ...