Attached is a little gem I found in my father's pile. I am curious about the grade. I'm still absorbing what I can to get a better sense, but I just saw a 65 Kennedy here get a 64 rating or so. Curious again, was rating that number is from. I am familiar with US Coin Digest, but I am thinking I should get the Red Book. As for this 3 center it would be great if there wasn't black spotting on the back. The photos, unfortunately, really only work when magnified a bit. I'm without appropriate equipment for photos, so took with iPhone. The spotting is visible when magnified, but I enjoy how little wear otherwise this little guy has.
Investing in a redbook would be a good idea. Knowledge is key in this hobby. This is a pretty low grade coin. I don't know the exact one.
Thank you! Looks like I might be doing better than I thought. I figured VF-20. Will get the Red Book shortly
I believe it's a buyer's market for the odd-denom type coins. At a show, you should find 50+ to choose from, and plenty of time to compare prices.
Speaking of the 3-cent nickel (and silver) coins, they were originally intended to simplify the buying of a 3-cent stamp, at times when there was a drastic shortage of small denomination coins in the U.S. The 1851 3-cent silver appeared the first year of the first general issue 3 cent stamp (and accompanying reduction in letter postage from 5c or 10c down to 3c), and the 3-cent nickel appeared the first year of the Civil War, when coins were immediately hoarded, not just silver coins, but everything. Those 3c stamps of the 1865 issue are quite common, even 150 years later. The experiment did not work out very well, as 3 cent coins circulated only in the big cities of the East, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, in part explained by the fact that all were minted in Philadelphia, except that first 3c 1851-O silver. You hardly ever found them in Arkansas or Dakota Territory, for instance. When the 3c nickel coins came out, the 3c silver coins disappeared overnight, as you would expect.
