1858 Silver Three-Cent Piece. MS-66 (NGC).

1858 Silver Three-Cent Piece. MS-66 (NGC).，This satiny and untoned beauty would make an impressive addition to a high grade type set. Bold clash marks are as made, the surfaces free of post-production blemishes to readily uphold the validity of the MS-66 rating from NGC. Although the silver three-cent pieces produced from 1851 to 1853 were composed of 75% silver and 25% copper, a supplement to the Act of February 21, 1853 that Congress passed on March 3 brought the composition of this denomination in line with that of other subsidiary silver coins then in use. Accordingly, and beginning in 1854, silver three-cent pieces would be struck in a standard silver alloy of 90% silver, 10% copper through the series end in 1873. In order to distinguish pieces struck in this revised composition, the Mint modified the design slightly by raising the border of the star and adding two extra lines to further outline this device. This design, known in numismatics as the Type II silver three-cent piece, proved short lived and was replaced with the Type III design in 1859, which dropped one of the two extra outlines around the star. Due at least in part to its brevity, the Type II is the scarcest and most conditionally challenging of the silver three-cent designs. The 1858 was produced in greater numbers than the 1854, 1855, 1856 and 1857, and it is the preferred type candidate in todays market. Precious few are as nicely preserved and visually appealing as the present Gem, however, a fact that confirms this lovely piece as among the finest obtainable for both the issue and the type.，，