My boyfriend recently obtained a coin collection that contained an 1852 3 cent piece. I was hoping someone could help us with learning a little more about the coin and the value. I would appreciate any input, thank you.
Although there is some nice detail on the interior of the coin which might have graded it a possible "Fine", the excessive wear on the rims would probably net this coin a grade of good. There are also scratches and it looks to have been cleaned. It becomes hard to place a value on it therefore. It would make for an okay space filler in an album until a better one comes around but if you sold it, it would sell for whatever the market would bear or a buyer would be willing to spend on it. This coin had a mintage of 18,663,500 pieces. It has a silver content of .750 & copper content of .250. It was designed by James B. Longacre, weighs .80 gram and is 14mm in size. In "Good" condition (w/o the scratches) would be worth maybe $20.00. Hope I was able to help out here.
Here's a website that gives a little more historical background on that particular obsolete denomination: http://threecentsilvers.com/
I'd grade it F15, cleaned, $25-30. Great piece of history. There were three design-types of these coins. This year, 1852, falls in Type 1.
