The Unique Link of Three Dollar Gold Pieces, Three Cent Silver Pieces, Large Cents, Washers, and Stamps Part I of II

I'm sure that just reading that title you're thinking: oh no. Whoever is writing this has gone mad and is making up crazy things. But the truth is, these five subjects have a lot to do with each other. I'm going to tell you a bit about the three coins I am talking about first, and then we'll get into the links (In part II)

The large cents of early America were very interesting, and have a wide variety. The first official large cents were minted in 1793 at the Philadelphia mint. On the obverse is the bust of Lady Liberty, the word liberty, and the date 1793. On the reverse are the words "one cent" and 1/100 and the inscription "United States of America." In 1797, a major change was made to the design, creating the popular "Draped Bust" design. The next change was made in 1808, to make the classic head type. The copper used on these was softer that of other types, and so they tend to have much more wear and are very rare to find in choice condition. They were coined from 1808-1814. The next design was the "Matron Head" design, from 1816-1835. It is very similar to the Classic head, but has the thirteen stars going all the way around on the obverse. The last type of large cent is the common Braided Hair from 1839-1857, with a new bust, the line under One Cent removed, and from 1843-1857, larger letters.

There were two types of three cent pieces minted—the silver "trimes" and the nickel three cents. The silver "trimes" is what I'm talking about in this. The silver "trimes" were minted from 1851 to 1873, and were minted because of the cost of postage stamps—three cents each. Unfourtinetly, there coins were hoarded by the public, and so were very short-lived. The "trimes" were the smallest American coin ever issued, and the design is like no other. It features a six-pointed star with the legend "United States of America" and the date on the obverse. On the reverse, it features a curved crescent moon with the number three in roman numerals. Varieties 2 and 3 feature an olive sprig above III and a bundle of arrows below.

 The Three dollar gold piece is a very unique gold type coin. They were known as the Indian Princess Head pieces, and were struck form 1854-1889. The design features Lady Liberty wearing a headdress on the obverse, and the inscription United States of America. The reverse shows a wreath of tobacco, wheat, corn, and cotton encircling the number 3, the word DOLLARS, and the date.  The very interesting links will be in part II on Friday. Sorry about the suspense!

P.S. I finally got a 19th century type coin book at the INA show on Saturday!! Just thought I'd let y'all know;)