Two-Cent Pieces

James B. Longacre designed the two-cent piece, and the coin is remembered today less for its brief commercial life than for a four-word phrase on its obverse. IN GOD WE TRUST appeared on the two-cent piece in 1864, the first time the motto had been used on any United States coin. The idea had been circulating for a couple of years. Reverend Mark R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania wrote to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase in November 1861 suggesting that God be recognized on the national coinage, and Chase, who was sympathetic to the idea and not above a little public piety during a national crisis, directed Mint Director James Pollock to prepare suitable designs. Longacre went through several iterations before settling on the final arrangement, with the motto arched above a federal shield on the obverse. The reverse carried a wreath enclosing the denomination 2 CENTS, simple and legible. The shield-and-motto obverse gave the coin a heavier symbolic weight than its two-cent face value might suggest, and the religious inscription would eventually migrate to every other denomination in the series, though that process took decades.

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1864–1872 Years struck

25 Date / variety entries

Philadelphia only Mints

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Key date Semi-key Variety Proof Regular

Date	Variety	Mintage	Price Guide Estimates							Classification	CK #
Date	Variety	Mintage	G	VG	F	VF	EF	AU	MS	Classification	CK #
1864	Large Motto	19,847,500	$17	$17	$20	$28	$45	$65	$94	REGULAR	CK-905
1864	Small Motto	19,847,500	$205	$265	$325	$435	$605	$810	$990	KEY	CK-907
1865	—	13,640,000	$17	$17	$20	$28	$45	$65	$94	REGULAR	CK-908
1865	Fancy 5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	VARIETY	CK-914
1865	Plain 5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	VARIETY	CK-915
1866	—	3,177,000	$17	$17	$20	$28	$45	$65	$96	REGULAR	CK-919
1867	—	2,938,750	$20	$25	$28	$36	$48	$73	$105	REGULAR	CK-922
1867	Doubled Die Obverse	—	$100	$126	$162	$305	$560	$940	$1,625	VARIETY	CK-928
1868	—	2,803,750	$20	$33	$45	$40	$59	$86	$121	REGULAR	CK-933
1869	—	1,546,500	$25	$33	$40	$53	$67	$100	$126	REGULAR	CK-937
1870	—	861,250	$33	$40	$53	$96	$162	$325	$470	SEMI-KEY	CK-945
1871	—	721,250	$36	$42	$48	$67	$121	$162	$225	SEMI-KEY	CK-951
1872	—	65,000	$325	$415	$515	$690	$905	$1,465	$2,645	KEY	CK-958

1864 Large Motto 1864 Small Motto 1865 1865 Fancy 5 1865 Plain 5 1866 1867 1867 Doubled Die Obverse 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872

Date	Variety	Mintage	Price Guide Estimates							Classification	CK #
Date	Variety	Mintage	G (PR)	VG (PR)	F (PR)	VF (PR)	EF (PR)	AU (PR)	MS (PR)	Classification	CK #
1864	Large Motto	19,847,500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-904
1864	Small Motto	19,847,500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-906
1865	—	13,640,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-909
1866	—	725	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-918
1867	—	625	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-923
1868	—	600	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-932
1869	—	600	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-939
1870	—	1,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-947
1871	—	960	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	KEY	CK-948
1872	—	950	—	—	—	—	—	—	$1,055	KEY	CK-955
1873	Closed 3	600	—	—	—	—	—	—	$3,400	KEY	CK-962
1873	Open 3	600	—	—	—	—	—	—	$3,255	KEY	CK-965

1864 Large Motto 1864 Small Motto 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 Closed 3 1873 Open 3