I have a 1867 three cent piece.How do I tell if it is nickel or silver.I am not real familiar with them. Any help would be appreciated thanks .
The design is an obvious thing. If it has a star on the obverse, it is silver. If it has a persons head on the obverse it is nickel. The nickel is much bigger. So, heads its nickel, stars its silver.
Odds are that you have a 3 Cent Nickel. In 1867 the mintage for 3 Cent Nickels was over 3.9 million. 1867 was a Proof-only year for 3 Cent Silvers with a mintage of 625.
Pick up a copy of the Red Book, it's loaded with information. Just take the values with a grain of salt though.