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Three-Cent Pieces
The smallest coin produced by the mint was the three-cent silver piece, or trime. This coin minted from 1851 to 1873 featured a six-pointed star on the obverse and the Roman numeral three on the reverse. It had a diameter of 14mm and a weight of less than a gram. Initially, the coin was comprised of 75 percent silver and 25 percent copper, but this was changed in 1854 to 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. A three-cent piece composed primarily of copper and nickel was minted from 1865 to 1889. This coin had a diameter of 17.9mm.
Half Dime
The first five-cent coin was dubbed the half dime, and production began with the initial batch of American coins in the 1790s. Initially, this coin was minted with a diameter of 16.5mm, but this was later reduced to 15.5mm. The coin weighed slightly more than a gram. The design of the coin changed over the years from "Flowing Hair" to "Draped Bust" to "Capped Bust" to "Seated Liberty," but the composition stayed at a steady 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. The coin was discontinued in 1873.
Dime
The smallest of coins still in circulation today, modern dimes are slightly smaller than the first ones minted -- 17.9mm today compared to 19mm for the first "Draped Bust" design of 1796. Silver comprised 90 percent of the composition of dimes until that precious metal was phased out of circulation in 1964. Modern dimes are composed of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel and weigh about 2g.
Penny
While the first one-cent coins were closer in size to modern half dollars, the size of the penny was reduced in 1856 to 19mm, a size that has remained constant since that time. That first "Flying Eagle" design had a composition of 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel. This was increased to 95 percent copper until zinc became the primary metal used in the penny in 1982 at 99 percent of the composition. Modern pennies weight 2.5g.