Well, perhaps you will not find this obscure coin in
your pocket, but just over 100 years ago this would have been quite likely.
During the Civil War, both North and South introduced
paper money, redeemable for gold or silver on demand. People began to hoard
gold and silver coins, and even pennies, which contained nearly
their face value
in
metal content. Issuing the two cents piece as well as more pennies with less
expensive content was a strategy to keep specie (coins) in circulation
despite the hoarding.
It was the first US coin featuring the "IN GOD WE TRUST" motto. Acceptance
and mintage levels both fell off dramatically after the war, however, as
other coins began to reappear in circulation.
The US Two-Cent coin was only minted from 1864-1873 and was introduced
along with the new copper Indian Head cent (following almost 6 years of copper+nickel Indian Head production).
Recommended Resources
| Websites | ||||
| CoinFacts.com Website | Federal Reserve Bank coin information Website | |||
| Another good article about the 2-cent piece Website | ||||
| Books and Other Media | ||||
| The "Red Book" of United States Coins |
Coins Magazine (12 issues) |
The
Coin Dealer Weekly Newsletter |
CoinWorld Magazine (52 issues) |
Coin
Prices (6 issues) |
| Other Sites of Potential Interest (content selected automatically) |
Test Your Knowledge
This test covers the information in this article. Read each question and decide in your head what the answer is. Click the empty cell in the last column to see the correct answer.
| US Two-Cent Piece | What phrase appeared first on the US Two Cents coin? | IN GOD WE TRUST |
| What was the main reason for introduction of the US Two Cents coin? | The US government was desperate to get more coins into circulation due to hoarding | |
| During which year of the Civil War was the US Two Cents coin first minted? | 1864 | |
| Which president's image appears on the US Two Cents coin? | No one's image appears on the coin | |
| For how many years was the US Two Cents coin produced? | 10 - from 1864 to 1873 |
Click Here to go to the "Test Your Knowledge" page covering all articles included in this week's theme on DailyUSHistory.com.
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