Largest & Smallest 1851./ 3 Cent Silvar a Swindle

[jeff of pa]

Portage sentinel. (Ravenna, Ohio), 12 May 1851.



https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...coin&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

 

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[lairmo]

This one?...can you imagine?...lol

 

[Megalodon]

I think the "swindle" referred to the slight profit made by the private mint. If i find one, I promise not to complain about it.

 

[jeff of pa]

I think the "swindle" referred to the slight profit made by the private mint. If i find one, I promise not to complain about it.

Back than I Believe people expected their 3 Cent coins to have 3 Cents worth of Silver

Their 10 Cent coins to have 10 Cents worth of Silver Etc.

Apparently the 3 Cent Trimes were a bit Under weight

of course Collector Value & The increase in Silver Value eventually changed things

 

[Megalodon]

The irony of the occasional complaints about the silver content of minted coins is that these coins were a response, in part, to complaints about excessive clipping of mostly Spanish coins (although i have seen some severely clipped MA pine tree coins).

Businesses that were thought to clip coins excessively were known as "clip joints". I remember that expression being in common use by my parents and grandparents. Some of the places called clip joints - like car dealers, didn't even handle coins, but the expression was used to apply to perceived rip-offs.

 

[jeff of pa]

"chiselers" came from the Same Practice

During the 1500’s, the Spanish coins were not cut in perfectly round shapes. The weight was what mattered, and not shape.
Cheaters would chisel a little bit off of the borders of the coins to later combine to more coins.
These people were called chiselers.
One can still see coins of certain countries that have dimple borders reminiscent of the chiseled coins.

http://www.weirdwords.com/2010/03/04/chiseler/

 

[MotherOfGeeks]

3 cent piece

They are pretty tiny. I don't have am 1851, but dad had an 1852.

 

[Dozer D]

They are pretty tiny. I don't have am 1851, but dad had an 1852.

View attachment 1668428 View attachment 1668430

Yes they are very tiny, small, and thin. I have three in my old type coin collection, both the silver & nickel versions.

 

[PetesPockets55]

If I remember correctly that is why the mint put "Arrows & Rays" on some denominations. To differentiate the slight weight difference. In 1853(?) silver was actually more valuable than gold because of the abundance of gold from the gold rush.
So people were hoarding and scrapping silver and causing a shortage in coins.

There's a neat article at this LINK .

 

[Dozer D]

Pete: you are EXACTLY RIGHT on the extra weight due to the arrows. I believe same holds true on the twenty cent piece, and other type coins in that era.