1864 Silver Three Cent Piece

About This Coin

The 1864 Silver Three Cent Piece is a United States cent from the Silver Three Cent Pieces 1851-1873 series — 14th of 23 years in the series. In 1864, coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint with a combined mintage of 12,470. This ranks 9th of 23 years by total mintage, below 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. Produced during the Civil War, when coin hoarding caused severe shortages and the Mint experimented with new compositions to keep coins in circulation. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 0.75 grams, 14.3 mm in diameter, with a plain edge. Produced 9 years before the celebrated 1873 key date. Across its variants, estimated values range from $640 to $1.7K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $44K in MS68+ grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by James Barton Longacre.