Values
A three-cent nickel’s market depends on the date, the grade, and whether 1873 is Closed 3 or Open 3. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass.
A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.
Key Dates
PCGS CoinFacts and NGC named no traditional key-date list for this series in this pass. This page will not invent one. Do not call every late date a key because the printed mintage is small.
There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. A worn common date is still worn.
Errors
These are named varieties. This page will not invent a count.
1873 Closed 3 versus Open 3. Two shapes of the 3. NGC printed separate mintages. They already have their own rows in the chart below.
Proof-only years. 1877, 1878, and 1886 are absent from the MS list in this pass. That is a production fact, not an error on a circulation coin.
This is not the silver three-cent piece.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer three-cent nickel page. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
The three-cent nickel does not split into design types. The overdate is the die variety guides name.
- 1887/6An overdate PCGS and NGC list. A regular 1887 is not this punch.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Three-cent nickels were struck at Philadelphia. The counts below are the NGC Coin Explorer cells that printed a mintage in this pass.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1865 | P | 11,382,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 1866 | P | 4,801,000 | 13732 | $20 | $45 | $200 |
| 1867 | P | 3,915,000 | 13733 | $20 | $45 | $200 |
| 1868 | P | 3,252,000 | 13734 | $20 | $45 | $200 |
| 1869 | P | 1,604,000 | 13735 | $20 | $45 | $200 |
| 1870 | P | 1,335,000 | 13736 | $20 | $45 | $200 |
| 1871 | P | 604,000 | 13737 | $20 | $45 | $265 |
| 1872 | P | 862,000 | 13738 | $20 | $45 | $325 |
| 1873 | P | 1,173,000 NGC also printed Closed 3 and Open 3 splits. Those sit on their own rows. | 13739 | $20 | $45 | $285 |
| 1873 | P Closed 3 | 390,000 | 13741 | $20 | $45 | $285 |
| 1873 | P Open 3 | 783,000 | 13740 | $25 | $50 | $345 |
| 1874 | P | 790,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 1875 | P | 228,000 | 13743 | $20 | $45 | $325 |
| 1876 | P | 162,000 | 13744 | $20 | $45 | $380 |
| 1879 | P | 38,000 | 13747 | $80 | $145 | $485 |
| 1880 | P | 21,000 | 13748 | $140 | $230 | $550 |
| 1881 | P | 1,077,000 | 13749 | $20 | $45 | $235 |
| 1882 | P | 22,200 | 13750 | $155 | $285 | $700 |
| 1883 | P | 4,000 | 13751 | $350 | $600 | $3,150 |
| 1884 | P | 1,700 | 13752 | $750 | $1,850 | $8,375 |
| 1885 | P | 1,000 | 13753 | $1,000 | $2,250 | $6,500 |
| 1887 | P | 5,001 | 13755 | $325 | $585 | $950 |
| 1888 | P | 36,501 | 13757 | $50 | $100 | $400 |
| 1889 | P | 18,125 | 13758 | $100 | $210 | $500 |
Mintage: NGC Coin Explorer, retrieved 2026-08-23. A blank year in the prose is a year NGC did not print. These are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
NGC ID: NGC Coin Explorer listing number, retrieved 2026-08-21. A dash means this pass did not record an ID.
1865 and 1874 are the Wikipedia circulation figures. 1877, 1878, and 1886 stay off because they are proof-only. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer.
Read the date. Read the III. Look at Liberty’s cheek before you argue type.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
A three-cent nickel is 75/25 cupronickel. It is not the silver three-cent piece.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 17.9 mm |
| Thickness | 1.15 mm |
| Weight | 1.94 g |
| Composition | 75% copper, 25% nickel |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Thickness 1.15 mm, weight 1.94 g, diameter 17.9 mm, and 75/25 cupronickel are the Numista type page (N#5336). This is not the silver three-cent piece.
Grading
A three-cent nickel wears first on Liberty’s cheek and coronet, and on the Roman III. This is cupronickel, not the silver three-cent piece.
Closed 3 versus Open 3 in 1873 is a date style, not a grade. Proof-only years stay off the circulating chart.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty’s cheek and coronet | The cheek and the hair under the coronet. | Those high points flatten while the rest of the head can still look busy. |
| The III | The Roman numeral on the reverse. | The III is the value. If it is a smear, the reverse has been in a pocket. |
| The date | The numerals, and whether 1873 is Closed 3 or Open 3. | Closed 3 versus Open 3 is a date style. A worn 3 is still a worn coin. |
| The rim | Whether the rim still holds UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | A worn rim takes the legend with it. Do not scrape the edge. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a three-cent nickel if you already know the type.
- Liberty’s cheek and the III are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this three-cent nickel are already slick.
- Liberty’s cheek and the III are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1881 is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- Liberty’s cheek and the III are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from liberty’s cheek and the iii.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- Liberty’s cheek and the III are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. Liberty’s cheek and the III still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on liberty’s cheek and the iii. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1881 is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on liberty’s cheek and the iii.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on liberty’s cheek and the iii.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on liberty’s cheek and the iii.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on liberty’s cheek and the iii.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean three-cent nickel for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on liberty’s cheek and the iii.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof three-cent nickels exist, and 1877, 1878, and 1886 are absent from the MS list in this pass. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations (BN, RB, RD) do not apply here. Those belong on bronze coins such as the two-cent piece. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
A three-cent nickel is a United States three-cent coin with Liberty in a coronet on the front and a Roman III on the back. Collectors mean the cupronickel coins struck from 1865 through 1889. People also call it the nickel three-cent. Both names point at the same Longacre design.
People like them because the type is small and the late dates give you something to chase. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped nickel looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Mint introduced the cupronickel three-cent in 1865 beside the older silver three-cent. This page is only the nickel type. 1865 and 1874 use the Wikipedia circulation figures. Proof-only years stay off the circulating chart. The series ends in 1889.
This page will not invent a shop list or a silver-three-cent thickness to force a second page.
Design
Obverse: Liberty facing left in a coronet, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” and the date. Reverse: a Roman III in a wreath. There is no mint mark on Philadelphia.
Look at the cheek, the III, and the date. Those spots go flat first. Closed 3 versus Open 3 is a date style.
People Also Ask
What years are three-cent nickels?
Circulation three-cent nickels were struck from 1865 through 1889 at Philadelphia. 1865 and 1874 are the Wikipedia circulation figures the NGC cells left blank. 1877, 1878, and 1886 are proof-only and stay off this chart.
How much is a three-cent nickel worth?
It depends on the date, the grade, and whether 1873 is Closed 3 or Open 3. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.
Is this the silver three-cent piece?
No. The silver three-cent piece is a different series. This page is the cupronickel three-cent. Numista printed no thickness for the silver type in this pass, so that page is not here.
What is Closed 3 versus Open 3?
Two shapes of the 3 in 1873. NGC printed separate mintages and separate G / VF / MS-63 rows. They sit on their own lines under 1873.
Why are 1877, 1878, and 1886 missing?
Those dates are absent from the NGC MS list in this pass. They are treated as proof-only years here. This page will not invent a circulation count.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story. A common 1881 in a high grade can cost more than a better date that has already lost its cheek. That is normal.
If you inherited a box, do not scrub the III to “see it better.” Keep them in the holders they arrived in, or in cheap cardboard flips, and take the box to a person who sees odd denominations every week. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio. This site does not invent shop names to fill a paragraph.
Raw coins are fine. So are slabs. What is not fine is a coin that has been cleaned until the fields look like glass, then offered as “original.”
If you collect by type, one honest circulated three-cent nickel will teach you the III. For the bronze two-cent struck beside it, read the two-cent piece. For the five-cent Shield, read the Shield nickel.
A Final Word
Three-cent nickels reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the III. Leave the polish under the sink.
When you want the next odd denomination, the two-cent piece is already here.