1878 3CN, CAM PR(PCGS#83774)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2208

Grade

PR66+CAM

Price

1,500

Lot Description

Brilliant silver-white surfaces offer nice contrast between mirrored fields and satiny motifs. The first Proof nickel three-cent piece with a mintage recorded in Mint records, it has long been accepted that 3,200 Proofs were struck in 1878. Some confusion exists, however, since the figures for the sale of silver and minor coin Proof sets this year that Kevin Flynn has discovered in the 1885 Mint Director's Report are 746 and 2,281, respectively. Since both sets would have contained a nickel three-cent piece, the actual mintage of the Proof 1878 may be 3,027. Regardless of the exactly how many were struck, at least 2,700 of these coins exist today - a generous total that allows many collectors entry into this popular Proof-only issue.