1889 3CN MS(PCGS#3758)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3116

Grade

MS67+

Price

6,405

Lot Description

Unsurpassed PCGS-certified and CAC-approved quality for this historic final year nickel three-cent issue. Brilliant with a silver-white appearance, the surfaces are silky smooth in texture and approach numismatic perfection. Fully lustrous and frosty, with a sharply executed strike providing further appeal.<p>Produced from 1865 through 1889, the nickel three-cent piece was initially intended as a replacement for its silver counterpart, examples of which were withdrawn from circulation in the East and Midwest after the suspension of specie payments early in the Civil War. As the usefulness of this denomination waned, circulation strike mintages fell off markedly beginning in the mid 1870s. The scarcest issues in that format are located near the end of this series, including the 1884 and 1885 with circulation strike mintages of just 1,700 and 1,000 pieces, respectively. While more plentiful in an absolute sense due to a somewhat higher mintage of 18,125 coins, the 1889 is still elusive in this format. The offered coin is tied for finest certified across both PCGS and CAC stickering populations, and is an extraordinary condition rarity worthy of the strongest bids.