I've written before about proposed "odd denomination" United States ("US") coins (see Odd Denomination Stories for a list), and have decided to return to the subject to add a few others...In April 1912, during the Second Session of the 62nd Congress, Robert Johns Bulkley (D-OH) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives ("House") that called for the coining of Copper-Nickel ("CuNi") Three-Cent pieces. Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures with a subsequent referral to its Subcommittee.
The proposed CuNi coin was to weigh "sixty troy grains" (~3.89 grams) with a deviation of no more than two grains; its composition was to be 75% copper and 25% nickel. The previous US CuNi Three-Cent piece (issued from 1865 to 1889) had a weight of ~1.94 grams or ~29.94 grains. Thus, the proposed new coin would have been approximately twice as heavy as its predecessor. The coin's diameter was to be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
An interesting aspect of the bill was its specification that "Said coin shall have one perforation in the center." The objective of this provision was to make the coin easily distinguishable from other
US coins.
Was there a true need for the Three-Cent coin to be re-introduced?
During the Hearing held by the Subcommittee of the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, Representative Buckley offered the following justification:
"In the first place it is believed that a great many articles are sold arbitrarily for 5 cents which could go for 3 cents if there were a convenient coin."He then cited restaurant prices, newspapers and street-car fares as prime examples for his assertion. In each case, he believed the availability of a three-cent coin would lower prices to consumers (from 5 cents or multiples there of) and put a couple of cents in the pockets of the public.
Bulkley's arguments did not sway the Subcommittee enough for it to report the bill favorably, and the bill was not reported out of Committee or considered further by the House under a suspension of the rules; it died for lack of action when the 62nd Congress adjourned in March 1913. The bill was superceeded, however, by another Bulkley proposal that included the CuNi Three-Cent coin, a
Half Cent coin and a change in the composition of the One Cent coin, but that's a story for another day...
George Roberts, Director of the US Mint, also testified at the Subcommittee Hearing. He stated that while the Treasury Department had long been against making changes to the
US coinage system via an oft-requested 2-1/2 Cent Piece and a
Half Cent, Representative Buckley's proposal of a distinctive Three-Cent piece had swayed the Department's thinking and that it was than in favor of the coinage proposal. This cleared a major obstacle for future coinage efforts by Bulkley.
Stay tuned for the follow-up story!
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories about classic-era US circulation coinage, see:
Commems Collection 
Posted 02/04/2026 2:20 pm
