Lot 193
1878. PCGS graded Proof 67 Cameo PQ. CAC Approved. Popular Proof only date. Fully untoned and a gem. Only 2,350 minted. Pop 21; 3 finer, 2 in 67+, 1 in 68 (PCGS # 83774) .
Historic account of this unusual denomination: The Civil War placed great burdens on commerce, manufacturers, and also the U.S. Mints. By March 1864, the Philadelphia Mint was running out of nickel for cent planchets, and its requirements were so immense that even Joseph Wharton's newly opened Canadian mines could not supply the want. During 1863, cent coinage had required over 32 tons of nickel for the 12% alloy specified by law: a huge output for what was then a chemical curiosity costly and difficult to extract from its ores.
Mint Director James Pollock, a bitter opponent of the use of nickel for coinage, seized this opportunity to urge passage of a bill to abolish nickel cents and authorize issue of minor coins (1c, 2c, 3c) in French bronze. This bill became law April 22, 1864, over powerful opposition from Wharton's friends in Congress--minus the reference to 3c pieces. (The latter would have been the same size as the old large cents, but weighing 144 grains = 9.33 grams each; surviving patterns show them with the 1844-57 cent head. Most likely, had they been authorized, obsolete large cents would have been spent as 3c coins.) Yet Pollock appears to have agreed with other Treasury people that the 3c coin was a worthwhile denomination.
Estimated Value $2,400 - 2,500.
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| Realized $2,703 |
