1851 Three-Cent Silver
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 5,447,400 made
- Mintage
- 5,447,400
- Metal
- 75% silver, 25% copper
- Weight
- 0.8 g
- Diameter
- 14 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1851 Three-Cent Silver worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.0193 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1851 Three-Cent Silver rare?
- No. With 5.4 million made, it's one of the most common Three-Cent Silvers.
- Is the 1851 Three-Cent Silver silver?
- Yes. It's 75% silver, 25% copper and holds 0.0193 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1851 Three-Cent Silver?
- On the reverse, to the right of the Roman numeral III (1851-O only). No mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1851 are scarcer?
- The 1855 at 139,000, the 1854 at 671,000, the 1856 at 1,458,000. So the 1851 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1851 Three-Cent Silver coins were made?
- 5,447,400.
What to check on your 1851
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. The star's outlines and the shield at its center show wear first. These thin coins are often bent or damaged.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1851
1851 was the first year of the Three-Cent Silver. Philadelphia struck 5,447,400 of them. In 1852 the figure was 19 million.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1851-O (720,000).
Across Philadelphia's 22 Three-Cent Silver issues, the hardest to find is the 1872 with 1,000 made. The 1851 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1850s it's 8th smallest of 10, between the 1858 (1.6 million) and the 1853 (11 million).
It also marks a change of metal: 1851 is the first year of the Three-Cent Silver in 75% silver, 25% copper, which lasted until 1853.
Type 1 trimes for the postage rate (1851 to 1853)
The Act of March 3, 1851 cut the letter postage rate to three cents and created a small silver three-cent piece to pay it. James B. Longacre's design shows a six-pointed star with a shield on one side and a C with the Roman numeral III on the other. At 0.80 grams it is the lightest silver coin the United States has struck.
Type 1 coins are 75 percent silver and have no outline around the star. Philadelphia struck 18,663,500 in 1852. New Orleans struck 720,000 in 1851, the only branch mint three-cent piece. The low silver content kept them in circulation while full-weight silver coins were being hoarded. Survivors are common in worn grades and are frequently bent or holed.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1851
The three-cent silver piece was introduced in 1851 so people could buy the new three-cent postage stamps. It was the lightest coin the United States has ever issued.
How to recognize it
The smallest US silver coin shows a six-pointed star with a shield in its center and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around it. The reverse has a Roman numeral III inside an ornate letter C, surrounded by 13 stars. Type 1 (1851 to 1853) has no outline around the star, Type 2 (1854 to 1858) has three lines and Type 3 (1859 to 1873) has two.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Three-Cent Silver (1851–1873) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 5,447,400 |
| Face value | 3¢ |
| Composition | 75% silver, 25% copper |
| Weight | 0.8 grams |
| Diameter | 14 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Silver content | 0.0193 troy oz (0.600 g) |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Other 1851 Three-Cent Silver issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1851 Three-Cent Silver | 5,447,400 | Circulation strike | 0.0193 oz |
| 1851-O Three-Cent Silver | 720,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0193 oz |
Mintage: Three-cent silver (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.