Inherited Collection Highlights - 1871 Nickel Three Cent from my Mothers side.

Collection Highlights -

Back with another one of my favorite coins from the inherited collection I got from my mother's side. This one is in 1871 nickel 3 cent. It was one of the first three cent pieces I ever saw, and in fact initially I didn't think it was US currency as I never knew we made it 3 cent coin. I was intrigued and almost innocently I started getting interested in the numismatic side of collecting is directly related to this coin.

They minted 604,000 of these in 1871, all coming from the Philadelphia mint. They were unfortunately 75% of copper and 25% nickel, as only the previous versions were made from Silver. I really like the design, and the Roman numeral 3 on reverse is a strong image.

Grading this against the photo grade I put the obverse somewhere around a very good grade. The dark toning makes it a little harder for some of the details to pop out but the wording is old enough that I think it would pull in a very good grade.

I think the reverse would actually grade a little bit higher potentially just based on the way of the columns. It might be somewhere above a very good 10 to somewhere in the fine range. It might just be lucky that the columns are showing the detail, and only light where on the reverse, but it pulls closer to a very fine look to my eye while the front of the coin pulls in a lower grade.

PCGS 1871 3 CN Coin Facts
PCGS PhotoGrade Three Cent

Obverse

Nice strong imagery on the obverse of this coin. I love all of the coins that have the headshot, with a call to liberty. The Liberty crown or headband is very common and I love it on all the money. Otherwise a very simplistic design with the boss, the word United States of america, and the dates done at the bottom. Having all of these come from one mint removes any varieties or mint markings to be found, but I still like this design.

Reverse

The reverse is looking really nice. I love the Roman numeral three on the back with the full lines running the lengths of the columns. The leaves around the outside seems to be a very common theme. I believe they might be oak leaves is a signal of strength. The reading edge is also a nice touch on both sides of the coin. This one grades much nicer to me since those columns and the leaves contain most of their original detail.