Numismatic history of the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The numismatic history of the United States began with Colonial coins such as the pine tree shilling and paper money; most notably the foreign but widely accepted Spanish piece of eight,[1] ultimately descended from the Joachimsthaler and the direct ancestor of the U.S. Dollar.[1]
Paper money was not printed by the United States until 1861.[2]
American coinage (1792–c. 1837)
The Coinage Act of 1792 established the United States Mint and regulated the coinage of the United States.[3] The act created coins in the denominations of Half Cent (1/200 of a dollar), Cent (1/100 of a dollar, or a cent), Half Dime (also known as a half disme) (five cents), Dime (also known as a disme) (10 cents), Quarter (25 cents), Half Dollar (50 cents), Dollar, Quarter Eagle ($2.50), Half Eagle ($5), and Eagle ($10).
The first coin minted under the act, and therefore the first official coin of the United States, was the half disme. According to legend these first half disme coins were minted from Martha Washington's silverware.[4]
The half cent and cent were made of pure copper, the half dime, dime, quarter, half, and dollar in 90% silver, and the quarter, half and full eagle in .9167 gold (later changed to .8992 in 1834, and then 90% gold in 1837). All of the coins featured Liberty on the front and a bald eagle on the back.
This period of coinage covers several designs. The Draped Bust design was featured on all copper and silver coins minted between 1796-1807. On silver coins other than the dollar this design was followed by the Capped Bust.
In the early days, often years went by without a certain denomination being minted.
Seated Liberty era and introduction of the Double Eagle, Nickel and small cent (1836–1891)
United States Seated Liberty coinage was the silver coin design minted in the mid-to-late 19th century. It was the first seated-portrait U.S. coin, now-scarce Seated Liberty Dollar, and debuted in 1836. The seated liberty dime and seated liberty half dime followed the next year in 1837 and the seated liberty quarter and seated liberty half dollar in 1839.
In 1849, in the wake of the California Gold Rush, the Double Eagle, or $20 gold denomination was added[5] This coin contains nearly a pure ounce of gold and were minted in large quantities; many still exist today and are used as bullion coins. The Liberty Head Double Eagle was minted up to 1907.
Rising copper prices caused the reduction of the size of the large cent. Originally, cent coins were large and heavy. This changed between 1856 and 1857 when they were replaced by the small-sized Flying Eagle cent, which was made of 88% copper and 12% nickel, and had a somewhat pale brown color. In 1859 this was replaced by the Indian Head cent, and by 1864, the Civil War increased nickel and copper prices and the cent was made thinner and the nickel removed; the cent was thus now a small, thin bronze coin.
The five cent nickel coin was introduced in 1866, and gradually it made the half dime obsolete. To this day, the nickel, though the design has changed, retains the same metallic content it had from its inception: ~25% nickel, ~75% copper.[6]
The second half of the 19th century saw several odd coin denominations. The two cent piece was minted from 1864 to 1873. It was the first American coin to display the phrase In God We Trust, a result of the increased wartime religiosity during the Civil War. Three cent pieces made of silver, and later copper-nickel, were also made around this era. From 1875 to 1878, Twenty cent pieces were made in the Seated Liberty design. A Three-dollar piece of gold was minted from 1854 to 1889.
In 1878, the first Morgan Silver Dollars were minted; this series lasted until 1904 and was revived for several months in 1921.
Turn of the 20th century coinage, the introduction of paper money and the end of gold coins (1892–1932)
The year 1892 saw the designs of Charles E. Barber adorn the dime, quarter and half dollar. His Liberty Head nickel had debuted in 1883, and thus from the years 1892 to 1904, his designs were featured on every denomination from 5 cents up to one dollar. The Barber design lasted on dimes and quarters up to 1916, on half dollars up to 1915, and on the nickel up to the extremely rare and famous 1913 Liberty Head nickels. The 1892 Columbian Exposition Commemorative Half Dollar, engraved by Barber, was the first American coin that featured the face of an actual person (rather than Liberty).
Federal Reserve Notes were issued for the first time in 1914. Originally, these were backed by gold, and a note could be, at least in theory, exchanged for gold coin at a bank until 1933 when gold was confiscated from the general public. Silver certificates were exchangeable for silver coin up to June 1968.
The design of the American One dollar bill has stayed almost the same since 1935, and the other denominations had a similar appearance until their redesign in the late 1990s.
The Gold Eagle was re-designed in 1907 as the Indian Head eagle and the $2.50 and $5 pieces followed in 1908. The Liberty Head Double Eagle was replaced with the St. Gaudens Double Eagle in 1907. The wheat penny, with the head of Lincoln on the obverse, was introduced in 1909. Also, the Buffalo nickel and Mercury dime were both introduced in the 1910s (1913 and 1916, respectively).
The Peace Dollar was minted from 1921 to 1935. After 1935, no more silver dollars were minted for circulation by the US Mint. 90% silver dimes, quarters and half dollars were replaced with copper-nickel coins after 1964. From 1965 to 1976, 40% silver coins were issued in certain denominations. Of these, only the 1965 to 1969 dated Kennedy Half Dollars were minted for general circulation. No precious metals were present in any coins issued after 1977 by the US Mint until the bullion and commemorative series that began in the 1980s and continue to the present day.
