Two-cent piece (United States)
United States | |
Value | (0.02 US dollars) |
---|---|
Mass | 6.22 g |
Diameter | 23.00 mm |
Edge | plain |
Composition |
|
Years of minting | 1863 (patterns only) 1864–1873 (regular issues) |
Mint marks | None, all struck at Philadelphia Mint |
Obverse | |
Design | Shield, "IN GOD WE TRUST" on banner, date below. |
Designer | James B. Longacre |
Design date | 1863 |
Reverse | |
Design | Wheat wreath, "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" legend, "2 CENTS" in center. |
Designer | James B. Longacre |
Design date | 1863 |
The two-cent piece was produced by the
The economic turmoil of the American Civil War caused government-issued coins, even the non-silver Indian Head cent, to vanish from circulation, hoarded by the public. One means of filling this gap was private token issues, often made of bronze. The cent at that time was struck of a copper-nickel alloy, the same diameter as the later Lincoln cent, but somewhat thicker. The piece was difficult for the Philadelphia Mint to strike, and Mint officials, as well as the annual Assay Commission, recommended the coin's replacement. Despite opposition from those wishing to keep the metal nickel in the coinage, led by Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing bronze cents and two-cent pieces.
Although initially popular in the absence of other federal coinage, the two-cent piece's place in circulation was usurped by other base-metal coins which Congress subsequently authorized, the three-cent piece and the nickel. It was abolished in 1873; large quantities were redeemed by the government and melted. Nevertheless, two-cent pieces remain relatively inexpensive by the standards of 19th-century American coinage.
Inception
A two-cent piece had been proposed in 1806 by Connecticut Senator
Until 1857, the cent coin was a
This fact did not escape government officials, and when, in 1863, they attempted to restore coins to circulation, the use of bronze coins, which would not contain their face values in metal, was considered. In his annual report submitted October 1, 1863, Mint Director James Pollock noted that "whilst people expect a full value in their gold and silver coins, they merely want the inferior [base metal] money for convenience in making exact payments".[7] He observed that the private cent tokens had sometimes contained as little as a fifth of a cent in metal, yet had still circulated. He proposed that the copper-nickel cent be replaced with a bronze piece of the same size.[8] Pollock also wanted to eliminate nickel as a coinage metal; its hard alloys destroyed dies and machinery.[9] On December 8, Pollock wrote to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, proposing a bronze cent and two-cent piece, and enclosing pattern coins of the two-cent piece that he had had prepared.[10] According to numismatist Neil Carothers, a two-cent piece was most likely proposed in order to get as much dollar value in small change into circulation in as short a time as possible, as the Mint could strike a two-cent piece as easily as a cent.[11]
Legislation
On March 2, 1864, Pollock wrote urgently to Chase, warning him that the Mint was running out of nickel and that demand for cents was at an all-time high. He also informed the Secretary that the
The domestic supply of nickel was at that time produced by a mine at Gap, Pennsylvania, owned by industrialist Joseph Wharton. On March 19, Pollock wrote to Chase that they had no more nickel, nor was any available from overseas; "we are thus shut up to the home supply; from the works of Mr. Wharton".[13] Opposed to the removal of nickel from the cent, Wharton published a pamphlet in April 1864 proposing coinage of one-, two-, three-, five-, and ten-cent pieces of an alloy of one part nickel to three of copper, doubling the percentage of nickel used in the cent. Despite Wharton's efforts, on April 20, a select committee of the House of Representatives endorsed the bill. It was opposed by Pennsylvania's Thaddeus Stevens, who represented the mining area from which Wharton extracted his nickel. Wharton had spent $200,000 to develop his mine and ore refinement machinery, Stevens related, and it was unfair to deprive him of the major use of his metal. "Shall we destroy all this property because by coining with another metal more money may be saved to the government?"[14] Besides, he argued, the copper-nickel alloy for the cent had been approved by Congress, and the new metal, which he termed "brass", would show rust. He was rebutted by Iowa Congressman John A. Kasson, chairman of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, who stated that the bronze alloy did not resemble brass, and he could not support the proposition that the government is bound to purchase from a supplier because he has spent money in anticipation of sales.[15]
The legislation passed the House, and the
Design
In late 1861, the Reverend Mark R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, had written to Chase, proposing that some reference to God be placed on the coinage in that time of war, and on November 20 of that year, Chase wrote to Mint Director Pollock, "No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest tersest terms possible this national recognition."[21][22] Several mottoes were considered by Pollock, including "God Our Trust" and "God and Our Country".[21] Some of the patterns he sent Chase in December 1863 used "God Our Trust", and he wrote of the design, "the devices are beautiful and appropriate, and the motto on each such, as all who fear God and love their country, will approve."[8] He also sent pattern coins depicting George Washington; Chase responded to the letter, "I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that on that with the Washington obverse the motto should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND OUR COUNTRY. And on that with the shield, it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST."[23] Pollock had been inspired by "The Star-Spangled Banner",[23][24] a later stanza of which includes the line, "And this be our motto, 'In God Is Our Trust' ".[25] Chase may have been influenced in his decision by the motto of his alma mater, Brown University, In Deo Speramus (In God We Hope).[26]
As the mottoes to be placed on coinage were prescribed by the 1837 act, a legislative change was needed. The act which created the two-cent piece authorized the Mint Director, with the Secretary of the Treasury's approval, to prescribe the designs and mottoes to be used.[23][27] Longacre's two-cent piece was the first coin inscribed with "In God We Trust". The motto was popularized by the new coin; on March 3, 1865, Congress passed legislation ordering its use on all coins large enough to permit it.[28] Since 1938, "In God We Trust" has been used on all American coins.[23][29]
The obverse design is a Longacre version of the
Art historian
Production and collecting
A few thousand of the first circulation strikes, as well as a handful of
The two-cent piece was at first a success, circulating freely once enough of them were issued to be recognized by the public.[22] It initially circulated because of the wartime coin shortage,[26] which was alleviated by the new cent and two-cent piece. Although Pollock reported hoarding of cents in his June 1864 report, he did not thereafter mention such activities. Silver coins still did not circulate in much of the nation, and the new coins (joined by the three- and five-cent pieces of copper-nickel, first struck in 1865 and 1866 respectively) answered the need for small change.[36] In October 1864, he reported that the demand for both coins had been unprecedented and that every effort was being made to increase production; in his report the next June, he called the two-cent piece "a most convenient and popular coin".[11] The Act of March 3, 1865, that provided for the three-cent nickel piece, reduced the legal tender limit of the bronze coins to four cents, while making the newly authorized coin acceptable up to sixty cents.[37]
After the large mintage of just under twenty million in the first year, according to numismatist Q. David Bowers, "enthusiasm and public acceptance waned".[38] After the war, bank demand for the denomination dropped,[26] while demand for the new five-cent nickel increased; mintages of the two-cent piece were smaller every year.[39] Lange notes, "it was evident by the end of the 1860s that its coinage was no longer necessary".[22] According to Carothers, "the coinage of a 2 cent piece was unnecessary. While it was popular at first because of the great public demand for metallic small change, it was a superfluous denomination, and its circulation waned rapidly after the 5 cent nickel coin was introduced."[11]
Beginning in 1867, the new Mint Director, Henry Linderman, (Pollock had resigned) began to advocate for Congress to authorize redemption of surplus copper and bronze coinage. Although the nickel could be redeemed in lots (permission granted in its authorizing act), there was no provision for the government to buy back the smaller coins, and with more being issued every year, there were too many small-value coins. Treasury officials insisted the government could not accept the pieces beyond their legal tender limits, even if what was being done was exchanging them for other currency.[40] Under Linderman, the Mint, without any legal authority, purchased $360,000 in bronze coins using three-cent pieces and nickels. Still, millions of two-cent pieces accumulated in the hands of newspaper and transit companies, postmasters, and others who took small payments from the public, and there were complaints to Congress. With the advent of the Grant administration, Pollock returned to office and opposed the redemption proposals. Although he included Pollock's opinions as part of his annual report, Treasury Secretary George S. Boutwell asked Congress to pass a redemption act, and it did so on March 3, 1871,[41] allowing for the redemption of minor coinage in lots of not less than $20. It also allowed the Treasury Secretary to discontinue the coinage of any piece redeemed in large numbers.[42] Pursuant to the new law, the Mint in 1871 and 1872 redeemed over 37,000,000 small coins, including two-cent pieces.[41]
In the postwar years, Congress and the Treasury considered a revision of the coinage laws, as the act of 1837 was deemed outdated. Retention of the two-cent piece was never seriously considered in the debates over what became the
With the two-cent piece likely to be abolished, only 65,000 were struck for circulation in 1872;
Large quantities of two-cent pieces were withdrawn in the 1870s and after.[26] Approximately 17,000,000 of the some 45,600,000 two-cent pieces issued had been repurchased by the Treasury as of 1909.[50] Withdrawn pieces were melted and recoined into one-cent pieces.[51] A bill for a two-cent piece bearing the portrait of recently deceased former president Theodore Roosevelt passed the Senate in 1920 and was strongly recommended by a House committee but never enacted.[52] Numismatist S. W. Freeman noted in 1954 that few alive could remember using a two-cent piece, but for those who did, it was often associated with spending it at a candy store. He recalled that two cents would buy a quantity of sweets, as a dime did in Freeman's day, and, he feared, it would take a quarter to do in the future.[53] Full legal tender status was confirmed for the two-cent piece by the Coinage Act of 1965, long after the coin had passed from circulation, as it made all coins and currency of the United States good for all public and private debts without limit.[26] Nevertheless, numismatist Jack White pointed out in a 1971 column that due to its short lifespan, the piece "hardly got its two cents in".[54]
Mintage figures
All two-cent pieces were minted at the Philadelphia Mint, and bear no mint mark. Proof mintages are estimated.[55]
Year | Proofs | Circulation strikes[44] |
---|---|---|
1864 | 100 | 19,822,500 |
1865 | 500 | 13,640,000 |
1866 | 725 | 3,177,000 |
1867 | 625 | 2,938,750 |
1868 | 600 | 2,803,750 |
1869 | 600 | 1,546,500 |
1870 | 1,000 | 861,250 |
1871 | 960 | 721,250 |
1872 | 950 | 65,000 |
1873 Closed "3" | 500 | |
1873 Open "3" | 600 |
See also
- Three-cent piece
- Penny, the one-cent piece
- Half-cent piece
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
- ^ Taxay, p. 141.
- ^ Giedroyc.
- ^ Taxay, p. 232.
- ^ Snow, pp. 7, 9.
- ^ Yeoman, pp. 113–117.
- ^ Carothers, pp. 191–92.
- ^ Taxay, pp. 239–240.
- ^ a b c Taxay, p. 240.
- ^ Carothers, p. 196.
- ^ Radeker, p. 1740.
- ^ a b c Carothers, p. 200.
- ^ Carothers, pp. 196–197.
- ^ Carothers, p. 197.
- ^ Taxay, pp. 241–242.
- ^ a b Taxay, p. 242.
- ^ Carothers, p. 205.
- ^ Carothers, p. 195.
- ^ Carothers, p. 199.
- ^ Taxay, pp. 243–244.
- ^ Yeoman, p. 135.
- ^ a b Kay, p. 40.
- ^ a b c Lange, p. 99.
- ^ a b c d US Department of the Treasury.
- ^ Radeker, p. 1741.
- ^ The Soldier's Companion, p. 19.
- ^ a b c d e f Breen, p. 238.
- ^ Bureau of the Mint, pp. 44–45.
- ^ Lange, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Bureau of the Mint, p. 48.
- ^ a b Rayburn, p. 42.
- ^ a b Peters & Mohon 1995, p. 16.
- ^ Bowers 2006, p. 54.
- ^ a b Vermeule, p. 60.
- ^ Vermeule, pp. 60, 62.
- ^ Bureau of the Mint, p. 46.
- ^ Snow, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Carothers, p. 345.
- ^ Bowers 2009.
- ^ Yeoman, pp. 127, 130.
- ^ Carothers, p. 207.
- ^ a b Carothers, p. 212.
- ^ Bureau of the Mint, p. 50.
- ^ Carothers, pp. 227–238.
- ^ a b Yeoman, p. 127.
- ^ LaMarre, p. 28.
- ^ Snow, p. 228.
- ^ Taxay, p. 504.
- ^ Breen, pp. 238–241.
- ^ a b Green.
- ^ The Numismatist 1909.
- ^ The Coin Collector's Journal 1880.
- ^ Carothers, p. 299.
- ^ Freeman, pp. 562–563.
- ^ White, p. 37.
- ^ a b c Yeoman, p. 129.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-7948-1921-7.
- Breen, Walter (1988). Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-14207-6.
- Bureau of the Mint (1904). Laws of the United States Relating to the Coinage. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. OCLC 8109299.
- Carothers, Neil (1930). Fractional Money: A History of Small Coins and Fractional Paper Currency of the United States. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (reprinted 1988 by Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., Wolfeboro, N.H.). ISBN 0-943161-12-6.
- Lange, David W. (2006). History of the United States Mint and its Coinage. Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7948-1972-9.
- Peters, Gloria; Mohon, Cynthia (1995). The Complete Guide to Shield & Liberty Head Nickels. Virginia Beach, VA: DLRC Press. ISBN 978-1-880731-52-9.
- Snow, Richard (2009). A Guide Book of Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents. Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7948-2831-8.
- Taxay, Don (1983). The U.S. Mint and Coinage (reprint of 1966 ed.). New York: Sanford J. Durst Numismatic Publications. ISBN 978-0-915262-68-7.
- The Soldier's Companion. Boston: American Unitarian Association. 1865. OCLC 78437510.
- ISBN 978-0-674-62840-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7948-4506-3.
Other sources
- Bowers, Q. David (August 17, 2009). "Collecting Two-Cent Pieces 1864–1873". Professional Coin Grading Service. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- "Cents Wanted". The Coin Collector's Journal. New York: Scott & Co.: 110 July 1880. ISSN 0010-0447.
- Freeman, S.W. (June 1954). "Two Cent Pieces of the United States". The Numismatist. Colorado Springs, CO: American Numismatic Association: 562–573. ISSN 0029-6090.
- Giedroyc, Richard. "Two Cents (1864–1873)". CoinFacts.com. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- Green, Paul. "Two Cents Worth Collecting". Littleton Coin Company. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- Kay, Rick (April 2005). "The Remarkable Coinage of James B. Longacre". The Numismatist. Colorado Springs, CO: American Numismatic Association: 36–37, 40–41. ISSN 0029-6090.
- LaMarre, Tom (July 1998). "Old Denomination Treasures". Coins. Iola, WI: Krause Publications: 26–28, 30, 32, 77. ISSN 0010-0471.
- "Do We Need a Two-Cent Coin?". ISSN 0029-6090.
- Radeker, William T. (November 1991). "Those Collectable 2-Cent Pieces". The Numismatist. Colorado Springs, CO: American Numismatic Association: 1739–1741, 1805. ISSN 0029-6090.
- Rayburn, Yancey (October 1970). "Coins of America's 'Gilded Age'". Coins. Iola, WI: Krause Publications: 41–44. ISSN 0010-0471.
- "History of 'In God We Trust'". United States Department of the Treasury. March 8, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- White, Jack (May 1971). "The Two Cent Piece". Coins. Iola, WI: Krause Publications: 37. ISSN 0010-0471.
External links
- US Two-Cent Piece by year and type. Histories, photos, and more.
- Two-Cent pictures