Saint-Gaudens Low-Relief Double Eagles 1907-33

United States coinage has never been more beautiful than it was in the early years of the 20th century. The Buffalo nickel . . . the Mercury dime . . . the Standing Liberty quarter . . . the Walking Liberty half dollar-these were among the aesthetically stunning coins that made their first appearance and circulated side by side during that period.

Fittingly, however, the centerpiece of this “golden age” wasn’t a nickel or silver coin, but one made out of gold. The Saint-Gaudens double eagle, or $20 gold piece, stands above the rest as the single most magnificent coin of this-or any-era in U.S. history.

As the 1900s dawned, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was a towering figure in the sphere of American fine arts. Widely acclaimed as the nation’s preeminent sculptor, he was also a man of eloquence and influence who dominated the art world of his day not only by example but also through the exercise of power and persuasion.

His brilliance and renown brought him to the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt, and the two men developed a warm relationship that was at once both personal and professional. In 1905, Saint- Gaudens designed a handsome inaugural medal for the president. Pleased and impressed, Roosevelt then invited him to fashion prospective new designs for the two largest U.S. gold coins, the double eagle and eagle, and also for a one-cent piece (which never reached production). Saint-Gaudens welcomed the challenge and plunged into the project with all his prodigious energy and skill.

Both men admired the high-relief coinage of ancient Greece, and both agreed that U.S. gold coins patterned after that model would be a spectacular achievement. They would also stand in stark contrast to the two undistinguished-looking coins that were being replaced, the Liberty double eagle and the Coronet eagle, both of which had their roots in the first half of the 19th century.

Although his health was deteriorating as the project went along, Saint-Gaudens created superb designs for both gold coins. The double eagle, especially, is a masterpiece. Its obverse features a full-length portrait of Liberty with a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left. She is shown in full stride with rays of sunlight behind her and the U.S. Capitol Building to the left of her flowing gown. Encircling her are 46 stars-one for each state in the Union at that time. The coin’s reverse depicts a breathtaking eagle in flight, with the sun below extending its rays upward. Above the eagle, in two semicircular tiers, are the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TWENTY DOLLARS. High points to check for wear are Liberty’s breast and knee and the eagle’s wing.

Saint-Gaudens placed another required motto, E PLURIBUS UNUM, along the edge of the coin, thus reducing the clutter on the obverse and reverse and reinforcing their clean, open look. He and Roosevelt conspired to omit IN GOD WE TRUST from the first of the new double eagles, but God-fearing members of Congress noticed this and mandated addition of this motto on later issues, starting near the end of 1908. On pieces produced thereafter, it appears above the sun on the reverse.

Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens intended that the coin would be struck in high relief to bring out each exquisite detail. Unfortunately, though, the artist died in 1907, almost on the eve of the coin’s debut. Meanwhile, Roosevelt was preoccupied with more pressing matters of state. All this, combined with the requirements of mass-produced coinage, gave Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber a chance and an excuse to reduce the coin’s relief. High-speed minting required this, he said-and what’s more, high-relief coins wouldn’t stack.

Fortunately, the beauty of the coin remains dazzling, even in lower relief. And thankfully, Saint-Gaudens’ original art was preserved in its pristine beauty through the minting of small numbers of extremely high-relief patterns and high-relief business strikes in 1907-or rather MCMVII, for the date was shown on these coins in Roman numerals.

The first production pieces were made with high relief. But after striking just 11,250, Mint officials substituted new dies with the modified, lower relief, and these remained in use through the end of the series. As if to underscore the shift from the classical to the commercial, the Mint used Arabic numbers in dating all reduced-relief double eagles.

“Saints” were minted each year from 1907 through 1916. A three-year hiatus followed, after which the coins were struck yearly from 1920 through 1933. The branch mints in Denver and San Francisco augmented the main Philadelphia Mint production, but not in every year. Mint marks appear above the date the designer’s initials (ASG) below.

From 1929 onward, newly minted examples were held almost entirely as part of the nation’s gold reserves, with few being released into circulation. Almost all of these were melted (along with many earlier double eagles) following the gold recall order signed in 1933 by another President Roosevelt-Theodore’s cousin, Franklin. As a result, double eagles dated 1929 through 1932 are exceedingly rare today. The Mint produced nearly half a million pieces dated 1933, but the government maintains that these were never released, and thus it is illegal to own them. That was the end of regular-issue U. S. gold coinage.

Mintages were generally modest, but heavy melting, not low mintage, was primarily responsible for creation of the major rarities, including the 1927-D, the 1920-S, the 1921, the 1930-S and the 1932. The survival of many of these dates is predominately due to the large quantity of gold coins held in Swiss and French bank vaults. Since the 50s, tens of thousands of “Saints” have found their way back to their country of origin and into collectors’ hands. Proofs are very rare as only 687 were offered for sale from 1908 through 1915. They were made with a flat matte finish except for 1909 and 1910 when they were made with a more brilliant Roman or satin finish. This large gold coin is actively sought by a myriad of collectors: from bullion hoarders to type collectors to those challenged by the awesome (and expensive) undertaking of assembling a complete date and mintmark set.

In 1986, the U.S. Treasury paid the “Saint” the highest compliment by placing its obverse design on the American Eagle gold bullion coins, where it has remained ever since.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 34 millimeters Weight: 33.436 grams Composition: .900 gold, .100 copper Edge: Lettered E PLURIBUS UNUM Net Weight: .96750 ounce pure gold

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Akers, David W., A Handbook of 20th-Century United States Gold Coins 1907-1933, Bowers & Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1988. Bowers, Q. David, United States Gold Coins, An Illustrated History, Bowers & Ruddy, Los Angeles, 1982. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Dryfhout, John H., The Works of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, University Press of New England, Hanover, NH, 1982. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co. Inc., New York, 1966. Vermeule, Cornelius, Numismatic Art in America, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1971.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

Draped Bust/Small Eagle Half Dimes 1796-97,
Photo courtesy Barry

One of the first acts of a sovereign nation has always been to establish a system of currency for use in commercial transactions. In the fledgling United States this was doubly important. Although the accepted standard of value was the Spanish silver dollar and its fractional pieces of eight, English coins of pounds, shillings and pence also were in use throughout the young nation. Efficient trade was hampered at every turn, particularly between the states, as each valued the Spanish coins differently in relation to English issues. By the end of the 1780s, much discussion ensued concerning the necessity and structure of a reliable, non-fluctuating system of coinage.

Thomas Jefferson, along with Alexander Hamilton and financier Robert Morris, had long advocated the use of the decimal system. Introduced by the Dutch inventor Simon Stevin van Brugghe, it used whole numbers to describe fractions and was translated into English in 1608 as Disme: the art of tenths, or, Decimall arithmeticke. Jefferson saw decimal coins as the solution to the conflicting foreign systems already circulating in North America. The gold ten-dollar piece would be roughly equal in value to the British double guinea. The silver dollar and its fractions would correspond to the Spanish eight reales. Copper cents would be equivalent to English halfpennies.

The Mint Act passed by Congress on April 2, 1792, provided that “. . . the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or units, dismes or tenths, cents or hundredths, . . . a disme being the tenth part of a dollar . . .” It was fitting that this country, born of revolution, should use a revolutionary system for coinage.

The first decimal coins struck were the William Russell Birch designed pattern half dismes of 1792. Only fifteen hundred were minted. Most likely, as the late Walter Breen postulated, minting half dismes was the most economical use possible of the $75 worth of silver bullion that was on hand at the time. But this small mintage was only an experiment.

It wasn’t until 1795 that regular minting of the half dime began, though the first examples were coined from dies dated 1794. Robert Scot’s Flowing Hair design was widely criticized for its scrawny eagle and its portrayal of Miss Liberty in a “fright wig.” (Although Scot’s design-unlike the 1792 coins-did not display the denomination, the spelling of “disme” would evolve over time to the anglicized “dime.”)

After the poor reception afforded Scot’s creation, Mint Director Henry DeSaussure addressed the immediate need of improving the coinage. Going outside the Mint, he engaged artist Gilbert Stuart to submit a sketch for a new Liberty head. Stuart modeled his Liberty after the buxom Mrs. William Bingham of Newport, Rhode Island. Using Stuart’s sketch, transferred to a relief model by John Eckstein, Scot engraved the dies for the new half dime.

Released in 1796, the coin’s obverse design consists of a Draped Bust profile of Liberty facing right, with flowing hair secured by a ribbon. The word LIBERTY is above her head, and the date is below the bust. Stars flank each side. The coin’s reverse depicts an open wreath surrounding a small eagle that is perched on a cloud. The eagle is smaller than the one on the Flowing Hair design of 1794-95, but it has a fuller breast. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the wreath.

The 1796 half dime has eight stars on the left and seven on the right, representing the fifteen states, including the new states of Vermont (#14) and Kentucky (#15). In 1797, a fifteen-star variety was struck, and later a sixteenth star (eight right, eight left) was added after Tennessee was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1796. Director DeSaussure’s successor, Elias Boudinot, realized that they couldn’t go on adding stars ad infinitum, so the last variety of 1797 had only thirteen stars (seven right, six left). Henceforth, thirteen stars would be used to symbolize the original union of states.

There were 54,757 half dimes of this design minted. Only a few varieties exist, and all are rare. Even type collectors find this issue a challenge. In 1796, there is a late die-state example with a broken “B” in Liberty that appears as “LIKERTY” and an overdate, 1796/5. The 1797 coins were minted from only three obverse dies having either fifteen, sixteen or thirteen stars. No proofs were made, but supposedly there is a single 1797 fifteen-star prooflike presentation piece that can be traced back to Mint Director Boudinot. It was sent to Matthew Boulton in England as an example of the Mint’s capabilities. It was last reported in the collection of Harold Bareford but did not appear when his coins were auctioned in 1981.

One reason for the paucity and low quality of coinage during this period was the yearly outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia during the summer and fall months. The epidemic was particularly ferocious from 1797 through 1804, and during some of these years the Mint was temporarily closed throughout the yellow fever season. Key employees-engraver Joseph Wright and assayer Joseph Whitehead-succumbed in 1793, and Mint Treasurer Dr. Nicholas Way was felled in 1797. Official procedures were instituted for closing the Mint in these emergencies, including provisions to pay off the workers and instructions for coining or securing the bullion that remained on hand. All dies were to be packaged and sent to the Bank of the United States for safe keeping.

It should be noted that most Draped Bust/Small Eagle half dimes are usually very weakly struck, particularly in the center of the coin. This presents a grading challenge, as the typical specimen may grade only Fine. Wear first shows on the hair above Liberty’s forehead, at the hair over her ear and shoulder and on the area where the bust meets the drapery line. On the reverse, check the center of the eagle’s breast and the ribbon.

Draped Bust half dimes typically show adjustment marks made with a file to bring slightly overweight coins to the proper standard. This process of adjustment was done before the coin blanks, or planchets, were struck by dies into coins. Each blank was weighed, and overweight pieces were filed with strokes across the face of the blank, while underweight pieces were melted. Though adjustment marks are not a major factor in grading, they must be recognized so that they are not interpreted as damage to the coin.

No half dimes were struck in 1798 and 1799. The coin was again minted in 1800 with the same Draped Bust obverse, but with a new reverse by Robert Scot that copied the heraldic eagle device from the Great Seal of the United States.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 16.5 millimeters Weight: 1.35 grams Composition: .8924 silver, .1076 copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight: .0387 ounce pure silver

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, United States Coins by Design Types, Bowers & Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1986. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966. Valentine, Daniel W., The United States Half Dimes, Quarterman Publications, Inc., Lawrence, MA, 1975. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United States Coins, 48th Edition. Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1994

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, was also the author of the philosophical direction of the United States. He grew up on the edge of civilization in the “hard scrabble” life of American Colonial days, a self-taught, natural student who learned the basics of living from the books he loved. His heroes were not politicians or soldiers, but philosopher-scientists such as Isaac Newton, Thomas Bacon and Adam Smith. Jefferson was living in Paris in the 1780s, absorbing the new spirit of Enlightenment. He embraced a philosophy that taught the unbiased pursuit of knowledge and skepticism of “truths” long taken for granted. The aim was to no longer just reflect on the state of the world or contemplate another, but to change it.

As Secretary of State under George Washington, Jefferson’s public policies reflected his belief in rational change. When it was time for the fledgling United States to create a system of coinage, he knew a decimal system was a scientific and practical necessity, as he followed the work of Simon Stevin van Brugghe who, in the late 16th century, invented the decimal system as an alternative to fractions. Stevin’s pamphlet, De Thiende {1585}, later translated by Robert Norton as Disme: the art of tenths, or, Decimall arithmeticke, was familiar to many of Jefferson’s colleagues, including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and the new Mint Director, David Rittenhouse.

European and Colonial experiences with coinage were based on jerry-built systems established over many years. They were also non-decimal. The British system, for example, traced its origins to Ancient Rome, with a few impositions by the Saxons and Normans. Its unit, the pound, was divided into 20 shillings or 240 pence, with many subsidiary silver and copper units. Spain’s reales, a system of eights, or the French system of livre tournois, divided into sols and deniers, were simple compared to the even greater complexity of the German or Dutch systems. Establishment of decimal coinage in the United States was not only a clean break with the past, but truly revolutionary and consistent with the new philosophies of “The Age of Enlightenment.”

It was fitting that the first silver coins struck at the Federal Mint in 1792 were half dismes, or twentieth-of-a-dollar coins (the spelling “dime” didn’t come into general use until 1837). This one act not only established the decimal coinage system in the United States but had enormous political significance, as the coinage of silver was universally recognized as an expression of national sovereignty. Only 1,500 half dismes were made, and Jefferson gave many away as gifts. President George Washington, in his annual address in November of 1792, referred to the half dismes as “a small beginning” in coinage.

In November of 1793 the Mint hired banknote plate engraver Robert Scot as the new chief engraver. This decision was regretted in future years, as Scot proved to be egocentric, jealous and, as a tenured Mint employee, cantankerous. He had no experience designing device punches for coins and learned as he went. His first attempt-the 1794 Flowing Hair design-suffered from broken punches and was greeted with harsh public criticism. Commentary of the time described Liberty as wearing a “fright” wig, and the bird on the reverse as resembling a turkey more than an eagle.

In 1796, new Mint Director Henry William DeSaussure decided that the coinage designs needed improvement and persuaded the illustrious painter Gilbert Stuart to prepare a new portrait of Liberty. As Scot was too unskilled to translate the buxom portrait to relief, the Mint hired John Eckstein to create the models. Unfortunately, the completed dies degraded Stuart’s portrait, and the finished coins exhibited weakness in the center of the design. This was most apparent on the half dimes. Due to various problems at the mint, including yellow fever epidemics, the design was minted for only two years. No more half dimes were struck until 1800.

Scot’s design for the Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagle half dime of 1800 was first used on the gold quarter eagle in 1796, the half eagle in 1797 and the dollars and dimes in 1798. It features a strengthened and more aesthetic rendering of Stuart’s Draped Bust portrait of Liberty, her hair tied with a ribbon. The inscription LIBERTY appears above her head, and surrounding the bust are seven stars to the right and six to the left. The reverse depicts a large eagle with outstretched wings-the Union Shield on his breast-clutching thirteen arrows and an olive branch. His beak holds a ribbon inscribed with the Latin motto E PLURIBUS UNUM (One made up of many). Thirteen stars are above the eagle, with an arc of clouds above the stars. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the periphery.

A total of 124,270 Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagle half dimes were minted from 1800 through 1805, with no coins dated 1804 and no proofs reported. Collectors normally include this coin in a 19th century type set, along with the Capped Bust half dime of 1829-37 and the several varieties of Seated Liberty half dimes (1837-73). High grade pieces are elusive or nonexistent. When uncirculated pieces do appear in the market, they’re most likely dated 1800. The rarest date of the series is 1802, with a mintage of only 3,060. Noted researcher, the late Walter Breen, estimated that only 35 to 45 examples of the 1802 issue survive in all grades, and none in mint state. As counterfeits exist of this famous rarity, authentication is highly recommended. An interesting variety of this short-lived series is the 1800 LIBEKTY issue, made when a defective “R” letter punch was used.

When grading this design take into account that, due to poor striking quality, these coins usually exhibit weakness on one or more high points. It is important to discern the difference between poor strike and actual wear. Weak areas often include Liberty’s hair and drapery, the obverse stars and the stars and clouds above the eagle. The first places to show wear are the hair above the forehead and by the ear, on the drapery just over the date and the drapery lines at the bust. On the reverse, look for wear on the eagle’s wing tips and tail feathers.

Though the half dime denomination was important in commerce as a convenient way to make change, the Mint’s ability to make enough of these coins was limited. Production of the Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagle half dimes ceased in 1805. The markets, and especially the banks, preferred the large quantities of legal tender Mexican silver half reales (valued at about six cents) then in widespread use. The half dime was not minted again until 1829, when the denomination returned with the William Kneass/John Reich Capped Bust design.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 16.5 millimeters Weight: 1.35 grams Composition: .8924 silver, .1076 copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight: .0387 ounce pure silver

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, U.S. Coins by Design Types, Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., Wolfeboro, NH, 1986. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Doubleday, New York, 1988. Peterson, Merrill D., Jefferson and Religious Freedom (Part I), The Atlantic Monthly, New York, 1994. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Company, New York, 1966. Valentine, Daniel W., The United States Half Dimes, Quarterman Publications, Inc., Lawrence, MA, 1975.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

1835 started off with a bang. On January 30th, an assailant fired two shots at President Andrew Jackson as he was leaving the House chamber. The shots missed. Ironically, a short time later, Samuel Colt patented his revolver. In early spring, Georgia passed the death penalty for anyone publishing anything that could incite slave rebellions. Abolitionists ranted, while most of the South approved. Lots of tension, lots of change.

Changes also led to the Mint becoming a very busy place. For the first time ever, there was a large amount of silver and gold available for use. New steam technology brought the introduction of modern, state-of-the-art coining presses which could strike coins quickly and efficiently in a close collar. These factors were instrumental in the Mint’s entering the modern era.

Newly appointed Mint Director Robert M. Patterson had strong feelings about his own vision of the emblematic Liberty, and it didn’t include portraits, as on the coinage to date. He favored the rendition of Britannia on the English copper coins and immediately assigned Chief Engraver William Kneass to do a sketch using a similar concept. Kneass’ simple sketch was taken several steps further by the artists Titian Peale and Thomas Sully.

Enter Christian Gobrecht. By 1835 the talented engraver and medallist had worked for the Mint for over a decade, but without an official, permanent position. Among other assignments, he was responsible for many of the device punches that were used on the earlier Capped Bust coins. Finally appointed second engraver after Chief Engraver William Kneass’ debilitating stroke in the summer of ‘35, Gobrecht immediately set to work on bringing Patterson’s ideas and Sully’s painting to life. The result was to grace the coinage for over half a century.

The Sully/Gobrecht Seated Liberty design was adapted for use on half dimes and dimes in 1837. It depicted a robed Liberty seated on a rock, holding in her right hand the Union Shield inscribed with LIBERTY and a staff topped with a Liberty cap in her left. Except for the date, the figure sits alone in clear fields. The reverse features a laurel wreath enclosing the denomination HALF DIME, with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircling the periphery. As opposed to the later coins issued with obverse stars, the cleanness of the fields gave the coin a powerful, aesthetic impact, often presenting a cameo appearance on higher grade pieces.

On July 25, 1837 the first new half dimes were issued. About 20 or so proofs were struck for presentation to dignitaries and VIP’s. Approximately 12-14 of these are known today, and they can be distinguished from business strikes by particularly bold detail and fully reflective surfaces. Additionally, all true proofs show very clear triple punching on the 8 in the date (this should not be regarded as diagnostic criteria for all proofs, though, since this feature is also seen on early die states of the business strikes).

A total of 1,405,000 Seated Liberty half dimes were struck in 1837. Two distinct varieties are known. The first has a large date with the date in a curved line and a tall peak to the 1 in the date. The second variety has a small date with the date in a straight line and a flat top to the 1 in the date. The Small Date is considerably scarcer than the Large Date, but virtually no premium is accorded to this variety. These 1837 No Stars half dimes, in comparison to other issues of the same era, are much more available in uncirculated grades than one might expect. Apparently, many pieces were saved as first-year-of-issue souvenirs.

In 1838, and for that year only, No Stars half dimes were coined in New Orleans. Some 70,000 pieces were struck, and these represent (along with the similarly dated dimes) the first regular issue silver coins struck at a United States branch mint. The 1838-O half dimes saw heavy circulation and are much rarer than the Philadelphia coins of 1837. Unlike many first-year-of-issue coins, virtually no one saved any pieces as souvenirs. As a result, mint state 1838-O half dimes are extremely rare and almost non-existent in grades higher than Mint State-63.

No Stars half dimes are very popular. Although very few collectors are still attempting to complete Seated Liberty date sets, higher grade No Stars examples have great eye appeal and are highly coveted by type collectors. From an artistic standpoint this coin is one of the most uncluttered coins ever struck in the United States. Due to the rarity of 1838-O, the 1837 issue is the one typically included in type sets.

When grading coins of this type, check the high points of the breast and knees on the obverse and the ribbon bow and tips of the leaves on the reverse. The 1838-O half dime is more difficult to grade. Many pieces were struck from heavily rusted dies. In addition to this die rust, the overall quality of strike was poor. These coins looked worn as soon as they left the die, and even a short stint in circulation left them with a wretched appearance. It is possible to find an 1838-O with minimal die rust and a reasonably decent impression, but they will never compare in overall appearance to the 1837 Philadelphia issues.

In 1838 an arc of thirteen stars (arranged seven to the left and six to the right) was added to the obverse of the half dime. The original hub of 1837 was retained, and the individual stars were hand-punched into each working die. This was done to quell criticism from those who took issue with the lack of the traditional stars signifying the original states.

Although a case could be made for the aesthetic appeal of the No Stars design, the issue was moot after the release of the 1838 Seated Liberty quarter dollar with stars on its obverse. Both the half dime and dime design were then changed to conform to the Mint’s policy of similar designs on all coins of the same metal. Christian Go-brecht’s majestic depiction of Liberty, however, would continue on the half dime until 1873, when Congress stopped production of the tiny silver five-cent piece in favor of the increasingly popular copper-nickel five-cent piece.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 15.5 millimeters Weight: 1.34 grams Composition: .900 silver, .100 copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight: .03877 oz. pure silver

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Breen, Walter, United States Half Dimes: A Supplement, New York, 1958. Blythe, Al, The Complete Guide To Liberty Seated Half Dimes, Virginia Beach, VA, 1992. Morris, Richard B., Encyclopedia of American History, 5th Edition, Harper & Row, New York, 1976. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966. Valentine, Daniel W., The United States Half Dimes, Quarterman Publications, Inc., Lawrence, MA, 1975.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

During the first third of the 19th century, the average American saw few of his country’s gold or silver coins, if any at all. Strangely enough, in relation to the size of the rapidly expanding nation, not many coins were made. A combination of factors, including Congress’ ill-founded 15-to-1 silver/gold ratio, questionable Mint procedures, fluctuating gold prices and the large domestic supply of Spanish silver pieces, all served to limit the number of U.S. coins in circulation.

By the early 1830s, with Latin-American revolutionary chaos subsiding, Mexican silver exports jumped. This fact, combined with Congress’ new 16-to-1 silver/gold ratio, U.S. coinage flourished. Mintages ballooned dramatically, and the introduction of steam powered coining presses in 1836 only enhanced the Mint’s production capacity. While the ratio change-which favored silver-should have driven those coins from circulation, what actually occurred was an increase in the number of silver coins struck, particularly the smaller issues. Apparently Mexican mine owners found it profitable enough to sell their ore to the convenient and silver-hungry American market, despite the lower price. The U.S. was only too happy to turn their bullion into coins.

Changes were also taking place among Mint personnel: the new director, Robert M. Patterson, hired the exceptionally talented Christian Gobrecht as second engraver to Chief Engraver William Kneass. Gobrecht, a follower of the neoclassical style, was instructed to completely redesign the coinage using the English figure of Britannia as a model. Working from sketches made by Titian Peale and Thomas Sully, Gobrecht fashioned a majestic image of Liberty. In 1836 his Seated Liberty design was first used on silver dollars, the quasi-pattern “Gobrecht” issues. By the next year, working dies were ready, and production of the new half dimes began.

Only the No Stars half dimes (and dimes) of 1837-38 accurately reflect Gobrecht’s original concept. Liberty is seated on a large rock, holding a staff topped with a Liberty cap. The figure sits alone in the field with only the date below, imparting a cameo, medal-like appearance to the coin. The reverse-essentially the same on all half dimes from 1837 to 1859-features the denomination HALF DIME encircled by a laurel wreath, in turn surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

In 1838 thirteen stars were arranged around the image of Liberty, creating the Stars Obverse type, with each star hand-punched into a previous No Stars die. Collectors refer to the coins of 1838-1840-slightly different in appearance than later issues-as the “No Drapery” variety, and these are often included in type sets as a separate design.

In 1840 Robert Ball Hughes made the first of many modifications to come. He added an extra fold of drapery behind Liberty’s elbow and, unfortunately, “fattened” the overall design. Thirteen years later, to combat widespread melting of silver coins following the California Gold Rush, Chief Engraver James B. Longacre added arrowheads on either side of the date, denoting a slight weight reduction. The Stars obverse design, without arrows, resumed in 1856 and continued until 1860, when the Legend Obverse design debuted. The last changes were made in 1859, when engraver Anthony Paquet slimmed Liberty’s arms, reduced the size of her cap and enlarged her head. But the most notable difference of Paquet’s revision is the hollow center of each peripheral star. Some type collectors include this minor variety in their sets. As one of the five major design types of the popular Seated Liberty series, Stars Obverse half dimes are collected by date and mintmark as well as by type. Scarce dates abound, and some are nearly impossible to find, particularly in high grade-most notably 1844-O, 1846, 1849-O and 1853-O No Arrows. Type collectors searching for gem specimens will most frequently encounter the Philadelphia coins of 1857 and 1858.

The series includes two well known oddities, the 1859 and 1860 “transitional” issues. Both were creations of Mint Director James Ross Snowden, whose driving ambition during his tenure was to fill the conspicuous gaps in the Mint’s collection of U.S. coins. He authorized the striking of several “fantasy” pieces, including the Class III 1804 dollars, certain Gobrecht dollar restrikes and the so-called “transitional” half dimes and dimes. These half dimes have the Stars Obverse paired with Anthony Paquet’s Cereal Wreath reverse of 1860. These “coins without a country” (they lack the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) were traded to local collectors for coins missing from the Mint collection. The 1859 is a proof striking and very rare, with only 12-15 pieces known, The 1860 pieces, however, are business strikes, and with an original mintage of 100 coins they occasionally appear for sale.

A tiny number of proofs-totalling fewer than 1,000 pieces-were struck from 1838 through 1859, with 880 issued in 1858 and 1859 alone. Proof specimens before 1856 are rarely seen. Conversely, with a total of 42.7 million pieces minted, business strikes are quite plentiful, at least in lower grades. Only the Philadelphia (no mintmark) and New Orleans (O) Mints produced this design, with the southern branch mint producing fewer coins but ones that saw immediate and heavy use. For that reason Philadelphia issues appear more frequently, especially in the higher grades. New Orleans mintmarks are above the bow knot of the wreath.

Many weak strikes exist within the series, making those issues more difficult to grade. Unfortunately, the addition of peripheral stars in 1838 only added to striking problems. Coins from New Orleans are usually seen with weak strikes, and Philadelphia issues between 1856 and 1858 are often weakly defined on the central drapery and head of Liberty. Higher grade pieces will first show friction on the obverse on Liberty’s knees and bust. On the reverse, wear first appears on the ribbon bow.

By the time Stars Obverse half dimes ended their run, America stood on the brink of civil war. The coming conflagration would see many of the little coins disappear into hoards and melting pots. Production ended in 1859 to make way for the new Legend Obverse design with the Cereal Wreath reverse. However, Christian Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty lived on until Congress ended the denomination 24 years later with legislation that detractors would call the “Crime of ‘73.”

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 15.5 millimeters Weight: 1837-53, 1.34 grams 1853-59, 1.24 grams Composition: .900 part silver, .100 copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight. 1837-53, .03877 ounce pure silver 1853-59, .03588 ounce pure silver

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Blythe, Al, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes, DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 1992. Bowers, Q. David, United States Coins by Design Types, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Bowers and Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1986. Breen, Walter, A Coiner’s Caviar, Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins, 1722-1989, Bowers & Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1989. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Carothers, Neil, Fractional Money, A History of Small Coins and Fractional Paper Currency of the United States, John Wiley & Sons, London, 1930.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

When John Marshall discovered a few nuggets of gold on the American River in northern California in 1848 no one could have predicted just how much precious metal lay waiting to be found and how widespread the effects of his discovery really would be. But gold soon flooded the monetary markets of the world, and this overabundance of the metal caused its price to fall, which in turn had the effect of raising the price of silver as reckoned in gold dollars. As the price of silver rose relative to gold, the intrinsic value of United States silver coins increased above their face value. Soon, U.S. silver coins were melted when found, and by 1851 they were no longer found.

This lack of fractional silver coinage created chaos among merchants and bankers who were forced to make change with silver three-cent pieces, heavily worn dimes and half dimes and the ubiquitous Spanish silver pieces. As the voice of the people, Congress quickly responded to the complaints of the merchant class, and bills were introduced and fiercely debated for two years before action was finally taken to solve the problem.

Many in Congress were genuinely concerned about debasement of the country’s silver coinage, the solution most commonly suggested to remedy the situation. The idea of a fiduciary coinage was a new concept at the time, and it was several decades until most Congressmen were comfortable with the idea that a coin need not contain a full measure of precious metal to be a valid circulating medium. In the 1850s many inside and outside of Congress considered the idea of fiduciary coinage to be basically dishonest. Perhaps the most ill-informed opponent of fiduciary coinage was future President Andrew Johnson, who called the bill introduced to reduce the silver content of the half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar “the merest quackery” and “charlatanism.” However, after two years of postponements and three consecutive days of debate, the bill authorizing a weight reduction of 6.9% in these silver coins was signed into law February 21, 1853.

Much depended on the new coins entering the channels of commerce as quickly as possible. Officials agreed that the new, lower weight coins should have some distinctive design or mark that would enable the general populace to easily distinguish them from the earlier coinage that contained a greater amount of silver. Even Congress recognized the need for the new coins to have a modified design, and the following month a law was passed that authorized the Mint to temporarily employ such artists as would be needed to alter the dies for the coins affected.

But Chief Engraver James B. Longacre knew that the press of time would not allow any drastic redesigning or the hiring and training of outside artisans. All there was time to do was hand punch arrowheads on either side of the date and add a “glory” of rays on the reverse dies of the quarter and half dollar. Longacre added arrows to 78 new obverse dies for 1853 half dimes, eighteen for the New Orleans Mint and just two for San Francisco. The San Francisco dies were shipped there just in case they could be used, but the branch mint failed to begin coining operations until the next year.

More than 13 million Arrows half dimes were struck in Philadelphia in 1853, more than half the total output of 25,060,020 for the three years that arrows were used. Only Philadelphia and New Orleans produced this subtype, and the New Orleans pieces are significantly scarcer than their Philadelphia counterparts. Proofs were struck in all three years but are of the utmost rarity.

Arrows half dimes are easily collected in all but the highest grades. There are no real “stoppers” in the three-year set, but the New Orleans coins are considerably more elusive and expensive than those from the Philadelphia Mint. For decades coin dealers would not stock low grade Arrows half dimes because they were considered so common. This disdain carried over to higher grade coins as well, and it has only been in recent years that type collectors have elevated this series to respectability due to the need for gem coins for type sets.

As one might expect, the wholesale removal of all pre-1853 silver coins did create several rarities, and in the half dime series the 1853-O No Arrows issue is a significant rarity that has sometimes been counterfeited by altering an 1858-O coin. The italic numeral 5 typical of the 1853 logotype makes this alteration an easy one to detect.

In 1856, after three years with arrows on either side of the date, the half dime was returned to its pre-1853 design. The weight reduction effected in 1853 was continued, and this coin type remained unchanged until 1860.

With only this minor change in design, the grading parameters for Arrows half dimes remain the same as for the earlier issues. On the obverse, check the high points of the breast and knee for wear; on the reverse, the ribbon bow and tips of the leaves.

The Mint Act of 1853 achieved what Congress and the Mint set out to do; it reduced the amount of silver in the subsidiary coinage to a level where it was not profitable to melt, hoard or export these denominations, and small change circulated once again. The Act also established a fiduciary coinage in the United States for the first time. However, the profit the Mint made on the production of these coins (or seignorage as it is known) was minimal, and rising silver prices through the remainder of the 1850s made the Mint’s profits less and less.

By the time of the Civil War, so little was made on the production of silver coins that it looked as if melting and exporting would resume if the silver price continued to climb. Hoarding did indeed occur, but not because of rising silver prices. Rather, all silver coins were hoarded during the Civil War simply because the coins had precious metal in them, irrespective of the amount or its value. This is how great the public’s uncertainty was regarding the outcome of the War.

The issue of fiduciary coinage would be debated for the next century, but it was the Arrows coinage of 1853-55 that fired the opening shot in the controversy that was not fully resolved until all precious metal was finally removed from circulating coinage in 1970.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 15.5 millimeters Weight: 1.24 grams Composition: .900 silver, .100 copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight: .035 ounce pure silver

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Blythe, Al, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes, DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 1992. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Carothers, Neil, Fractional Money. A History of the Small Coins and Fractional Paper Currencv of the United States, John Wiley & Sons, London, 1930. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing, New York, 1966.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

Photo courtesy LeeG member of the PCGS boards

The half dime was the first denomination struck when the United States Mint was established in 1792. It was a lynchpin of the decimal coinage system envisioned by Jefferson and Hamilton, a system based on a method invented in Europe two centuries earlier. Decimal coinage was revolutionary, a departure from all other currencies then in use. The new U.S. dollar, unlike the familiar Spanish dollar with its eight parts, or bits, was divided into tenths and hundredths. Above the copper cents and half cents, the half dime was the smallest denomination. It was also the smallest silver coin minted until the introduction of the silver three-cent piece in 1851.

Prior to the Civil War, half dimes circulated alongside many odd foreign coins. Spanish coins in particular were square pegs trying to fit in the round holes of the decimal system. The Spanish real (bit) and half real (half bit) circulated as twelve and six cents, respectively. Very worn pieces were colloquially called the levy, a corruption of “eleven pence” and fip (“five-and-a-half pence”)-terms dating back to colonial times. When sold for bullion at the mint, these worn pieces were discounted, valued only at a dime and half dime, respectively.

Technology, primarily the steam press, made coins easier to manufacture beginning in the 1830s. In 1837 the portrait and eagle designs used on the earlier half dimes, including the preceding Capped Bust type, gave way to the beautiful and scientifically constructed Seated Liberty and wreath design by Christian Gobrecht. The eagle never again appeared on the half dime.

When the Seated Liberty quarter was introduced in 1838, with its thirteen stars surrounding Liberty, the tradition of design uniformity among coins of the same metal won out over art, and the clean, uncluttered half dime and dime received the stars. In 1840 artist Robert Ball Hughes reworked the figure of Liberty. He added drapery at the elbow, placed the shield in an upright position and made other minor alterations. Many observers feel the sum of his efforts only succeeded in “fattening and flattening” Gobrecht’s sleek design.

The California Gold Rush spawned the discovery of huge amounts of the precious metal, causing the value of silver to rise in terms of gold and resulting in widespread exporting and melting of silver coins. By 1853 the government was forced to reduce the amount of silver in coins to prevent them from being melted. Arrowheads pointing outward were added to either side of the date on the half dimes from 1853 through ‘55, signifying the change in weight. They were removed for the coinage of 1856 and subsequent years.

The design was again tampered with in 1859, when Engraver James B. Longacre’s assistant, Anthony C. Paquet, created a new version notable for its hollow stars surrounding the Liberty figure. Some pieces were made in 1859 and 1860 combining this obverse with the new reverse wreath of later issues. Lacking the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, these “coins without a country” are really fantasy pieces, being neither patterns nor coins intended for circulation.

In 1860 Longacre redesigned the Seated Liberty half dime for the last time. Known as the Legend Obverse type, it retained the seated Liberty figure holding a staff topped with a Liberty cap. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA replaced the thirteen stars that had surrounded Liberty on previous versions. The simple reverse wreath was discarded and replaced by an elaborate one made up of sprigs of corn, wheat, oak and maple and tied with a bow at the bottom (this Cereal Wreath motif by Paquet was also used on the Seated Liberty and Barber dimes). The denomination HALF DIME appears within the wreath.

Besides the Philadelphia Mint (no mintmark), this coin type was minted in New Orleans in 1860 (O) and in San Francisco (S) from 1863 through 1873. The mintmark is found below the bow, except on the San Francisco issues of 1870 through early 1872, where it appears within the wreath.

Although 15,573,280 Legend half dimes (including 10,040 proofs) were minted in the fourteen years that this type was current, the effects of civil war, bullion melts and use as jewelry items ravaged the issues from the 1860s. Still, several small hoards have been uncovered that yielded a few uncirculated specimens from this period. Other uncirculated specimens have surfaced in original Mint-assembled proof sets. Whether this occurred due to indifference or carelessness by Mint employees remains unclear. The dates found most frequently in uncirculated condition are the Philadelphia Mint issues from 1860 through 1862 and both the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mint half dimes from 1871 through the end of the series in 1873.

Unquestionably, 1870-S is the rarest and most fascinating Legend half dime. When construction started on the second San Francisco Mint in 1870, coins minted specifically to commemorate the occasion were placed inside the cornerstone. Only one 1870-S half dime was supposed to exist (and the mint building still stands), but in 1978 a duplicate specimen surfaced. The coin’s display at the 1978 convention of the American Numismatic Association caused quite a stir. It subsequently sold for a six-figure price.

When grading this design, look carefully at the surfaces of the fields to check for hairlines, evidence of cleaning, removal of solder or retooling of the design elements. Half dimes were heavily used in jewelry during the 1870s and ’80s and were popular as tie tacks, cuff links, buttons and pins. The obverse will first show wear on Liberty’s kneecap and breast. On the reverse, check the bow of the ribbon and the leaves in the wreath.

Although it is possible to assemble a complete uncirculated set of Legend half dimes by date and mintmark (sans the 1870-S), few collectors try. This design is more popularly collected as part of a type set of 19th century issues that might include the major varieties of the Gobrecht design. A small but interesting collection could be a Legend half dime from each mint. This would include the only New Orleans coin, 1860-O, a Philadelphia issue and one from San Francisco. The set could be expanded by including examples of both mintmark positions of the San Francisco coins.

The Coinage Act of 1873 changed the weights of the dime, quarter dollar and half dollar to conform with metric standards. The new law, which went into effect April 1, also ended the production of several denominations, including the half dime, as these were no longer listed among the authorized issues. The need for a five-cent coin was filled by the copper-nickel piece, which had been in production since 1866 and remains current even today.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 15.5 millimeters Weight: 1.24 grams Composition: .900 silver, .100 copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight: .0358 ounce pure silver

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Blythe, Al, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes, DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 1992. Bowers, Q. David, United States Coins by Design Types, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Bowers and Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1986. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

Union and Confederate guns fell silent in April 1865, but the civilian population was slow to give up certain behavior acquired during the four years of bloody civil war. No one in the North felt especially charitable toward the South, and few seriously considered rebuilding what industry had existed there before the outbreak of hostilities in 1861.

Specie payments had been suspended by the government in 1862 and peace had not seen the return of silver or gold coins to circulation. Citizens continued to hoard all forms of coinage that contained precious metal, and even copper-nickel cents were set aside for their limited intrinsic value.

During the war the federal government issued series after series of fractional currency. These “shinplasters” as they were known, rapidly soiled in circulation and were despised by the public. When yet another five-cent issue of fractional currency was introduced in 1865, it was enough to push Mint Director James Pollock to endorse a five-cent coin made of nickel.

Pollock had previously been an opponent of nickel coinage. He’d seen firsthand how difficult 12% nickel coins (the 1857-64 cents) were to strike and how the hard, brittle metal broke dies and injured the Mint’s machinery. He also knew how politically persuasive one Joseph Wharton was in the halls of Congress. Wharton owned the largest nickel mine in America and had lobbied Congress for many years to use the metal in the nation’s coinage.

But after the third issue of five-cent fractional currency was released to unfavorable public opinion, Pollock was finally convinced that the nation’s best interests would be served by striking a new five-cent coin in nickel, even if it meant adding to the already wide assortment of small denomination coins then in use. These included the half cent, large cent, copper-nickel cent, two-cent piece, nickel three-cent piece, silver three-cent piece and silver half-dime. (Most of these coins were not circulating due to wartime hoarding). Pollock looked at the nickel five-cent piece as a temporary measure-a coin that would circulate and replace the universally unpopular fractional notes until such a time as the silver half-dime could return to circulation.

As Chief Engraver it fell to James Longacre to design the new coin. Various patterns were executed, the most interesting ones featuring profiles of Washington or Lincoln, but the issue of portraying actual persons on coinage was far from resolved. In fact it was a particularly sensitive subject; the five-cent fractional currency the new coins would replace depicted the likeness of Spencer M. Clark, then head of the Currency Bureau, not the explorer William Clark as Congress had been led to believe.

Unable to use a portrait, Longacre merely modified the motif he’d used a couple years earlier on the two-cent piece. Although the adopted design does have a certain geometric balance, it is artistically weak. Even nickel monopolist Joseph Wharton, the man who stood to make more money than anyone else from the new coin, was disappointed. He described the coin as having ” . . . a tombstone surmounted by a cross overhung by weeping willows.”

The design was actually a shield with the cross of the Order of Calatrava at the top, flanked by a wreath on both sides. The reverse, while simply designed, was initially controversial. The central device shows a large numeral 5 and is surrounded by thirteen stars with thirteen sets of rays between the stars. At the time of issue, some believed Southern sympathizers had infiltrated the Mint and placed the Confederate “Stars and Bars” on the reverse.

The new coins seldom struck up well, and more dies were broken striking Shield nickels than all other denominations added together. During the first two years of issue the rays were retained on the reverse, but early in 1867 they were eliminated. as Mint officials believed this design element prevented the coins from striking up completely.

As originally proposed, the nickel five-cent piece was to weigh not more than 60 grains (or 3.88 grams expressed metrically) and be composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The House Coinage Committee intended for the new coin’s weight to be expressed in metric units but could not bring itself to publicly state so. The next metric weight would have been four grams, but this unit was mysteriously bypassed, and five grams was the weight adopted. But rather than express the weight in this simple term, the enabling legislation required the coin weigh 77.16 grains, the English equivalent of five grams!

Shield nickels were struck only at the Philadelphia Mint, and more than 126 million were produced from 1866 until the next design change in 1883. For such a short-lived series there are a surprising number of rarities. The two key issues are from 1877 and 1878, when only proofs were struck. Among business strikes, the years 1879-1881 are low mintage dates and worth large premiums in all grades. There are two overdates, the 1879/8-an overdated proof-and the 1883/2.

Proofs were struck every year and include one of the most important 19th century rarities-the proof 1867 nickel with rays. Only 25 pieces are believed to have been struck.

Counterfeits are plentiful bearing the dates 1870-76, and they were widely circulated in the New York-New Jersey area during the 1870s. They are not deceptive, however, as the design differs slightly from genuine coins.

Striking details are often ill-defined on Shield nickels, and high grade coins that are weakly struck must be graded by the amount of mint luster still remaining. The points to first show wear are the cross and leaves on the obverse and the numeral 5 on the reverse.

Shield nickels are collected by both date and type collectors. Although a relatively shortlived series, it’s challenging to collect by date because of the scarce, low mintage issues. Assembling sets of fully struck coins by date, however, can be somewhat frustrating. Type collectors usually acquire one example each of the Rays and No Rays design.

In 1883 the Shield nickel was dropped in favor of one featuring Charles Barber’s new Greco-Roman head of Liberty. The Shield nickel, though, was the first nickel five-cent piece, and while the design has changed several times since 1866, the basic 5-gram “nickel” has remained a mainstay of our modern coinage system.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 20.5 millimeters Weight: 5 grams Composition: .750 copper, .250 nickel Edge: Plain

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, United States Coins by Design Types, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Bowers and Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1986. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Carothers, Neil, Fractional Money, A History of Small Coins and Fractional Paper Currency of the United States, John Wiley & Sons, London, 1930. Fletcher, Edward L., Jr., The Shield Five Cent Series: A Comprehensive Listing of Known Varieties, Dead End Publishing, Ormond Beach, FL, 1994. Peters, Gloria & Mohon, Cynthia, The Complete Guide to Shield and Liberty Head Nickels, DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 1995. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966. Wescott, Michael, with Keck, Kendall, The United States Nickel Five-Cent Piece, Bowers and Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1991.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

Chester Alan Arthur was in the White House, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was napping in a nursery in Hyde Park, New York. FDR, after all, was only one year old at the time. Horse-drawn carriages ruled the roads-and in New York City they also reigned supreme on the just-completed Brooklyn Bridge.

The year was 1883, and one year after FDR’s arrival in that nursery, the United States Mint was busy giving birth to a “baby” of its own: the Liberty Head five-cent piece.

The father of the new coin was A. Loudon Snowden, Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint. Snowden believed that the nation’s three minor coins-the cent, three-cent piece and five-cent piece-should be uniform in design and metallic composition.

In 1881 he directed Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber to prepare suitable sketches for these denominations, with all three to feature a classical head of Liberty. Barber completed the task late that year, and trial strikes were made of the three coins.

All were very simple in design, with the Liberty head on the obverse and a Roman numeral-I, III or V-on the reverse within a wreath, signifying values of one, three and five cents, respectively. All were struck in copper-nickel, the same alloy being used already in the three-cent piece and the Shield nickel. It soon became apparent that Congress would oppose a change in composition for the cent, which was made of bronze. Furthermore, the Treasury would not permit a design change for the three-cent piece. That left only the five-cent piece, and Snowden and Barber concentrated on overhauling it.

The Shield nickel, introduced in 1866, was the first base-metal five-cent piece in U.S. history; up to then, the half dime-a small silver coin-had filled the nation’s need for that denomination. Though reasonably well accepted, the Shield nickel was hardly untouchable; its stark, bland design made it a prime candidate for remodeling. And its newness didn’t protect it from replacement: At that time, there wasn’t yet a federal law establishing a minimum life expectancy for U.S. coin designs.

Snowden admired Barber’s new design, and he also welcomed the change because it gave him a chance to increase the diameter (and thus reduce the thickness) of the nickel. He believed that this would lengthen die life dramatically.

Snowden proudly unveiled the Liberty Head nickel at a special ceremony on Jan. 30, 1883. Dignitaries attended, and souvenirs of the first strikes were distributed to the guests. Regular coinage began later that week-then suddenly the celebrating stopped.

The first “V” nickels had barely left the Mint when appalled officials found a fundamental flaw in their design: Barber had omitted the word CENTS. His oversight soon created a crisis for Uncle Sam: Confidence artists were plating the nickels with gold and passing them off to unsuspecting merchants as five-dollar gold pieces. They were, after all, virtually the same size as half eagles. As brand new coins, they were still unfamiliar to the public, and they lacked any statement of value beyond the letter V-which, of course, could represent either five cents or five dollars.

Barber quickly prepared a new design, this time placing CENTS in big, bold letters below the V. By then, however, the Mint had struck nearly 5-1/2 million of the so-called “No CENTS” nickels, and many had been gold-plated and passed. Even today, it isn’t uncommon to find these “racketeer nickels” in hoards and collections. Their value as collector’s items is small, but they hold great appeal as historical curiosities.

By the end of 1883 the Mint had produced more than sixteen million nickels with CENTS on the reverse, but the “No CENTS” variety is far more common today in choice condition. Many people set examples aside, mistakenly believing that, having been replaced, these would someday be rare.

Following all the drama surrounding its introduction, the Liberty Head nickel settled down to a sedate existence and one more befitting its role as a coin of the realm in the late Victorian Era. There were no significant further changes in its simple, straightforward design and, for all but the final year, there were no branch-mint issues to complicate matters, either; the Philadelphia Mint produced the entire mintage except in 1912, when Denver and San Francisco struck the coin as well in its last official appearance. (The mint mark appears to the left of the word CENTS on the reverse).

There are low-mintage issues-notably 1885, 1886 and 1912-S-but there are no great rarities; 1912-S, at 238,000, is the only coin with a mintage below a million. At the other extreme, not one V nickel topped the 40-million mark; 1911 is the highest with just over 39.5 million.

Although it covers 30 years, the Liberty nickel series makes for a compact and completeable set, largely because of the all-but-total lack of branch mint issues. For that reason it’s widely collected by date and mint, though many do collect it simply by type. Proofs were made in every year, always in the thousands, a high level for that period.

Due to their low relief, Liberty Head nickels are generally available well struck; the lower-left portion of the wreath may be a bit soft, due to its being directly opposite the highest relief of Liberty’s bust. Made in large numbers, these coins are readily available in very high grades. Points to check for wear are the hair above Liberty’s ear and the wreath and corn ears on the reverse.

In 1913 the Liberty Head design gave way to the Indian Head/Buffalo type. No Liberty nickels were made of that date officially, but some years later collectors were stunned to learn that five 1913 examples had surfaced-all of them apparently made on the sly by someone at the Philadelphia Mint. Despite their clouded origins, these came to be accepted as legitimate collectibles, and they now rank among the most coveted and valuable of all U.S. coins. In 1996 the Eliasberg Specimen, considered the finest of the five, became the first United States coin to top one million dollars at auction.

Controversy marked both the birth and the demise of the Liberty Head nickel. There’s no disputing one thing, though: This is a coin with exceptional appeal for collectors.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 21.2 millimeters Weight: 5 grams Composition: .750 copper, .250 nickel Edge: Plain

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Peters, Gloria and Mohon, Cynthia, The Complete Guide to Shield and Liberty Head Nickels, DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 1995. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co. Inc., New York, 1966. Wescott, Michael, with Keck, Kendall, The United States Nickel Five-Cent Piece, Bowers and Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1991. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United States Coins, 47th Edition, Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1993.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.

Still in production today, the Jefferson Nickel has become a familiar coin to generations of Americans. Introduced in 1938, it is the only one of our current coins being made in its original composition, though this continuity was interrupted briefly by the emergency of World War II. After more than six decades of minting, this humble coin continues to honor the nation’s third president.

Thomas Jefferson was a man of countless talents, and he possessed an unceasingly curious nature. His achievements in architecture (his own home, Monticello, being but one example), combined with his triumphs as a statesman, scientist and philosopher, have earned for Jefferson a lasting legacy as one of the truly great figures in American history. It was seemingly inevitable that once George Washington had been honored with a circulating coin in 1932, Jefferson could not be far behind in achieving such recognition.

Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743 in Virginia, in what was then Goochland (now Albemarle) County. Raised in a prosperous home, he took full advantage of the educational opportunities this offered him. Though he was proud to describe himself as merely a gentleman farmer, he began a long and illustrious career of public service in 1769 by joining the Virginia House of Burgesses. The onset of the American War of Independence six years later found him a member of the Second Continental Congress. In this capacity he became the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Returning to Virginia to serve as its governor during the closing years of the war, he later rejoined the Continental Congress for the term 1783-84.

Among the most pressing issues of the day was settlement of the nation’s war debt and the establishment of a monetary system. Jefferson devised a decimal coinage system, the principal points of which were ultimately adopted some years later. Jefferson then became America’s minister to France in 1785, returning home upon the election of George Washington as the first president of the federal republic. Jefferson’s term as secretary of state found him often at odds with the dominant Federalist party, and this only intensified during his vice-presidency under President John Adams (1797-1801).

A Republican, Jefferson succeeded Adams, serving two terms as president of the USA (1801-09). Highlights of his presidency included the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and America’s battles against the Barbary pirates. Retirement for Jefferson was anything but quiet, and among his achievements were the founding of the University of Virgina and the design of its buildings. He maintained a lively and stimulating correspondence with figures around the world, until death claimed him at his beloved home of Monticello in 1826. In a remarkable coincidence, his passing fell on July 4, fifty years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In an even greater twist, old rival John Adams also succumbled on that very same day.

Early in 1938, the Treasury Department announced a public competition for designs to replace those of the current five-cent piece. No reason was given for retiring James Earle Fraser’s Indian Head/Buffalo Nickel, but that design had achieved its statutory minimum production of 25 years, and therefore no legal obstacle stood in the way of replacing it. The new coin would honor Thomas Jefferson, and the competition rules specified that its obverse was to feature “an authentic portrait” of the third president. The rules further required that the reverse of the coin depict “a representation of Monticello, Jefferson’s historic home near Charlottesville.”

The contest was open to anyone who could deliver models that would work within the Mint’s technical requirements, and these specifications were provided in the public announcement. Of some 390 models submitted, those of German-American sculptor Felix Schlag were selected, and he was awarded the $1000 prize in April of 1938.

Felix Schlag’s portrait of Jefferson was based on a marble bust sketched from life by famed French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon. Schlag’s dramatic perspective view of Monticello was rejected by the Federal Commission of Fine Arts, which acted in an advisory capacity on all matters of public art. In addition to recommending a more conventional, elevation view of Jefferson’s home, the commission suggested that Schlag’s stylized, Art Deco lettering be replaced with a more traditional Roman script. Schlag complied with its requests, submitting revised models for review in July of 1938. After a few more changes were made to the lettering, principally enlargement of the value FIVE CENTS, the models were approved. With all of these delays, production of the new coins did not commence until September, and the first examples were released to circulation two months later.

The Jefferson Nickel features a left-facing bust of the president, dressed in a coat of the period and wearing a peruke wig. Arranged in arcs around the border are the motto IN GOD WE TRUST to the left, with LIBERTY and the date to the right, separated by a single star. On the reverse is a front elevation view of Jefferson’s home, with the name MONTICELLO beneath it. Around the border are the legends E PLURIBUS UNUM above and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA below. Beneath MONTICELLO is the value FIVE CENTS. Beginning in 1966, Schlag’s initials FS appear below the truncation of Jefferson’s bust.

The mints at Philadelphia (no mintmark until 1980), Denver (mintmark ‘D’) and San Francisco (‘S’) each coined Jefferson Nickels from 1938 onward. Mintmarks appeared to the right of Monticello through 1964, when their use was suspended due to a nationwide coin shortage. Mintmarks were restored beginning in 1968, though since that date they have been placed beneath the date, to the right of Jefferson’s peruke. San Francisco suspended coining operations after 1954, but Jeffersons bearing the popular ‘S’ mintmark were again made for circulation in 1968, 1969 and 1970. Beginning in 1971 and continuing to the present day, San Francisco has struck only proof examples for collectors.

Mintages from all three mints have varied over the course of the series, with some of these figures being small by modern standards. The dates considered “key” coins due to their low mintages include 1938-D, 1938-S, 1939-D, 1939-S and 1950-D. None are truly rare, however, as the Jefferson Nickel series coincides with the era in which Americans preserved rolls and even entire bags of uncirculated coins of each and every date. Instead of date rarity, the focus in collecting Jeffersons is on superb quality. Until the late 1980s, when lowering of this coin’s relief resulted in consistently sharp strikes, most Jefferson Nickels were seldom found with all details distinct. Specifically, the steps of Monticello are typically incomplete, and coins having “full steps” receive intense collector interest.

The novelty of the Jefferson Nickel caused most examples to be saved by a curious public during its first few years, and coins of this type did not become a familiar sight in circulation until about 1940. Shortly thereafter, the onset of World War II prompted the rationing of many commodities, certain metals among them. Nickel was highly valued for use in armor plating, and Congress ordered the removal of this metal from the five-cent piece, effective October 8, 1942. From that date, and lasting through the end of 1945, five-cent pieces bore the regular design but were minted from an alloy of copper, silver and manganese. It was anticipated that these emergency coins would be withdrawn from circulation after the war, so a prominent distinguishing feature was added. Coins from all three mints bore very large mintmarks above the dome of Monticello, and the letter ‘P’ was used as a mintmark for the first time on a U. S. coin. These “war nickels” proved quite satisfactory in circulation, and they were not immediately withdrawn. Instead, they remained a familiar sight until the mid-1960s, when rising silver prices caused them to be hoarded for their bullion value.

While a handsome coin in its own right, the Jefferson Nickel serves an additional purpose in honoring a truly great American. In this role, it is likely to continue for many years to come. For collectors, completion of the Jefferson series remains an inexpensive and attainable goal.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 21.2 millimeters Weight: 5 grams Composition: .750 copper, .250 nickel (1938-42, 1946-) .560 copper, .350 silver, .090 manganese (1942-45) Edge: Plain

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966. Wescott, Michael, with Keck, Kendall, The United States Nickel Five-Cent Piece, Bowers and Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1991. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United States Coins, 52nd Edition. Golden Books Publishing Company, New York, 1998.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.