Posted 05/20/2007 11:55 am
That was largely the reason for the three-cent silver creation (1851-1873). But starting at the beginning of the Civil War (1861) all silver was being hoarded and it wasn't circulating. The government created fractional notes, including a three-cent note (like the one below) to help with the missing coinage. However, these little notes quickly became tattered and torn and people hated them. They were nicknamed Shinplasters. Eventually, the Mint created 3CN coinage (1865) for the redemption of these Shinplasters. The mintages steadily went down as the remaining populations of these notes dwindled.
