3 Cents "Three Cent Silver" · “Three Cent Silver”

The Three Cent Silver — America's Smallest Coin

In 1851 the U.S. Mint struck a silver coin so small it could hide under a fingertip — 14 millimeters across, lighter than a paperclip. It existed for one strange reason: the price of a postage stamp had just dropped to three cents, and there was almost no silver change left in the country to pay it.