A heavily toned 1881 nickel three-cent piece. The mint had been producing silver three-cent pieces since 1851 but began phasing them out around the start of the Civil War. The 75% copper/25% nickel replacement was minted from 1865 through 1889. This specimen shows significant toning that partly hides the fact that it is actually only very lightly worn. See the scans and photos. In particular, when held at an angle to light (see the last couple of photos), all the lines in the Roman numeral "III" on the reverse are sharp and clear, placing this coin in at least the Extremely Fine grade category. I evaluate using three sources: Brown & Dunn, Photograde, and the Official A.N.A. Grading Standards. Is this the one for you? Priced to sell; your call.