The Odd Denominational Coins of the United States By Arno Safran

An 1800 Draped Bust half-cent The Half-cent was actually not considered our first odd denominational coin as it was one of the ten authorized denominations of the Coinage Act of 1792. An 1800 Draped Bust half-cent There were five different types with the series being struck from 1793 thru 1857 although not in consecutive years. The coin was originally coined to make change for the Latin-American Real worth 12½¢ which circulated in the early United States.

Of the five half-cent obverse types, four are collectible. The Liberty Cap 1795 at right Graded VG-8 The Draped Bust 1808 at right Grading VF-30

The most collectible dates of half cents are from the Classic Head Series (1809-1836) 1825 at right Graded XF-45 Coronet (“Mature Head”) 1849 at right Graded AU-55 struck from 1840-1857

Where has all the silver gone? With the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in northern California in 1848 and the gold rush that followed, bullion traders quickly discovered that the silver in our Liberty Head Seated coinage was worth more than the coin’s face value relative to gold and started to remove the silver coins from circulation as soon as they left the Mint. As a result of the diminishing money supply and a need to create a coin that would pay for a 3c postage stamp, Congress passed legislation authorizing a 3¢ silver piece with less than 90% silver content.

The Trime: 3¢ for a postage stamp An 1851-O silver 3 cent graded MS-62 by NGC It was struck in 75% silver and 25% copper. The tiny silver coin was 14 mm, just 1 mm wider than the $1.00 gold coin and the smallest silver piece ever produced by the US Mint. In 1851, 5,447,500 were struck in Philadelphia with 720,000 being coined at the New Orleans Mint, the only year a branch mint struck the denomination.

An 1856 Type 2 three cent silver piece Graded AU-53 by PCGS The Type 2 trime is the scarcer of the three sub-types. Notice the three outlines around the star and the sprig of leaves above the III inside the ornate C on the reverse. In 1854, the amount of silver content in the trime was increased from 75% to 90% while the bonded copper was reduced from 25% to 10%. An 1856 Type 2 three cent silver piece Graded AU-53 by PCGS (Courtesy of J.J. Teaparty)

An 1859 type III trime, a common date. In all, there were three modifications to the 3¢ trime Subtype 1: obv. single outline around star, rev. nothing above or below Roman numeral III (1851-53). Subtype 2: obv. three outlines around star, rev. sprig above Roman numeral III with arrows below (1854-58) Subtype 3: obv. two outlines above star, (reverse the same as above Subtype 2). (1859-1873) An 1859 type III trime, a common date.

All three cent silver subtypes compared

The Bronze Two Cent Piece During the Civil War, (1860-1865) and in some of the years that followed, our silver coinage virtually disappeared from circulation or was minted in very low numbers. To rectify the situation Congress authorized the striking of a 2¢ copper coin beginning in 1864. In 1861, a Pennsylvania minister, Reverend M. R Watkinson wrote a letter requesting Congress to add a motto to our coinage suggesting an allegiance to the almighty. In response, the 1863 pattern coin struck on the obverse of the newly proposed 2¢ piece displayed the motto “GOD OUR TRUST”. In 1864, the first year of new denomination’s issue, the motto was expanded to “IN GOD WE TRUST”. 1869 2¢ piece graded MS-61 by NGC

1864 small motto & Large motto 2¢ pieces The two-cent piece was struck from 1864 thru 1873, the last year, in proof only. There are two sub-types for the initial year, 1864, small motto (scarce) and large motto (common). 1864 small motto & Large motto 2¢ pieces

Close-up of the small & large date 2¢ pieces

The 3¢ nickel piece During this Civil War precious metal coins were hoarded and dropping out of circulation. This included the silver 3¢ piece as well. In 1865, Congress authorized 3¢ piece struck in an alloy of copper-nickel to stem the tide as it were. Chief Mint Engraver James Barton Longacre designed a Coronet head Bust of Liberty for the obverse and a Roman numeral III for the reverse. The new grayish hued coin was the same size of our dime, 17.9 mm but the public calling it a ”nickel” didn’t confuse it with the dime and the coin circulated. The new 3¢ nickel was struck from 1865 thru 1889 as both business strikes and proofs with the exception of the proof-only years of 1877 & 1878. The 1865 thru 1872 are common plus the 1881, the 1873-76 less so with the 1885 business strike being the “key” having a mintage of just 1,000, lower than the proof issue.

An 1865 3¢ piece graded MS-61 by NGC While not the most attractive of coin types, the first several years of the copper nickel issue was minted in large numbers and helped to put small change back into circulation. An 1865 3¢ piece graded MS-61 by NGC

An 1878 $3.00 gold piece graded AU-58 by NGC In 1854, a $3.00 gold coin was authorized, supposedly to make it easier to pay for one-hundred 3¢ postage stamps used by businesses. The coin was struck from 1854-1889 with 1854, 1874 and 1878 having the largest mintages and costing the least across the grading spectrum, the other dates being more expensive. An 1878 $3.00 gold piece graded AU-58 by NGC The $3.00 gold coin was composed of 90% gold bonded to 10% copper and was 20 mm in diameter.

The 20¢ piece Debacle The passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, called, “The Crime of ’73” by a number of politicos, discontinued a number of denominations intended for circulation, these being the 2¢ piece, the 3¢ silver trime, the silver half-dime and the silver dollar. Americans living in the western states and territories preferred to use silver coins over the 5¢ Shield nickel and argued for a new 20¢ silver coin which was eventually approved by Congress. Chief Engraver William Barber used a similar Liberty Seated obverse but with a raised Shield that would wear more quickly. For the reverse he designed new spread- eagle that was arguably more attractive than the one on the silver coins going back to 1807. The 20¢ coin was 22 mm compared with 24.3mm for the quarter and therein lies the problem. as the public continually found themselves confusing the new coin with the quarter.

A lovely example of an 1875-S Twenty-cent piece The new Double-Dime (as it was nicknamed by some) was struck as business strikes in 1875 and 1876 and as proofs in 1875 thru 1878. The business strikes of 1875 were coined in Philadelphia, San Francisco (most common) and the Carson City Mint. A lovely example of an 1875-S Twenty-cent piece Graded MS-62 by PCGS. The mintage was 1,555,000.

Reverses different but sizes are close At the time the 20c coin was issued people had difficulty distinguishing it from the quarter. The 20¢ coin was 22 mm compared with 24.3 mm for the quarter The 1875-S 20c and 1875 quarter compared Reverses different but sizes are close

The four business strike 20¢ pieces 1875-P, 1875-cc 1875-S & 1876-P The 1876-cc is an extreme rarity with 12 to 20 survivors known despite a reported mintage of 10,000.

Another effect of the Coinage Act of 1873 on our circulating coinage was the discontinuance of the silver dollar. The act provided an option however, when it approved the striking of a Trade dollar coin to replace the Liberty Seated dollar (1840-1873), to be used specifically in the orient. Like the half cent, the new Trade dollar cannot be regarded as an “odd denomination” coin. Chief Engraver William Barber designed the coin. Despite the fact that during the first six years the coin was issued as a business strike (1873-78), the type was granted legal tender only up to $5.00 and that in itself makes the Trade dollar odd. After the common 1878-S business strike issue, Trade dollars were struck in proof only from 1879 thru 1885, with the 1884 and 1885 great rarities today.

The Trade Dollar is an attractive design type. An 1875-S Trade $1.00 graded MS-61 The date had a mintage of over 4 million and is considered a common date.

Two incredible Pattern Coins The $4.00 gold Stellas of 1879 and 1880 There are two US gold-types that would have been represented by two extremely beautiful designs had they came to fruition. These were the two $4.00 gold stella pattern coins of 1879 & 1880. The concept was the brainchild of John a. Kasson, a US envoy to Austrian-Hungary, (then known as the Hapsburg Empire). According to Wikipedia, “the stella was produced in order to explore the possibility of joining the Latin American Union.” The $4.00 gold coin had a diameter of 22 mm, slightly larger than the 21.6 mm for the $5.00 half-eagle but with a composition of only .857 of gold compared with .900 fine for the regular US gold coins. Two design types were authorized, the Flowing Hair and Coiled Hair with the latter being far scarcer although both pattern types are extremely elusive and expensive.

Two incredible Pattern Coins The $4.00 gold Stellas of 1879 and 1880 An 1879 Flowing Hair $4.00 Stella designed by Charles Barber . This specimen graded Proof-67 by NGC realized $400,500 at a Heritage auction Aug. 13, 2006.

Designed by George Morgan An 1879 Coiled Hair $4.00 Stella Designed by George Morgan This specimen graded PF-63 by NGC realized $402,500 at a Heritage Auction on June 3, 2006

Unlike many of our obsolete bank notes in which many odd denominations exist from fractions of a dollar to $3.00 to $9.00 notes, US odd denomination coins are limited to mostly the examples shown in this presentation. The End