1854 PCGS AU58

1854 PCGS AU58

A beautiful 1854 Three Cent Silver graded PCGS AU58, sitting right on the doorstep of Mint State. The 1854 is especially desirable because it represents the first year of the Type II design. Only 671,000 pieces were struck, a dramatic reduction from the more than 11 million produced the year before. PCGS estimates that only about 4,000 examples survive today in all grades. At AU58, this is an excellent collector grade—high-end, attractive and considerably more affordable than a comparable Mint State example.

A fascinating year in U.S. coinage history: In 1854, the Mint changed the Three Cent Silver from 75% silver to 90% silver following the Coinage Act of 1853. To maintain approximately the same silver content, the weight was reduced from 0.80 to 0.75 grams, and the design was modified by adding additional outlines around Longacre's six-pointed star—creating the distinctive Type II “Trime.” This tiny 14.3 mm coin is a wonderful piece of pre-Civil War America and an important one-year transition for anyone building a Three Cent Silver type or date collection.

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