1870

1870 was the first year two-cent piece mintage dropped below one million coins. Philadelphia delivered only 861,250, and the denomination crossed from "low-production workhorse" into "semi-key territory that collectors actively track." The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in February, prohibiting the federal government and states from denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Enforcement would be a different matter for the next century, but the amendment's ratification marked the formal completion of the three Reconstruction amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth) that had followed the Civil War.

The 1870 two-cent piece is the first date where a complete-set collector needs to slow down and pay attention. PCGS estimates about 600 survivors across all grades, with 100 at the gem level. Good to Fine examples are the typical encounter; Very Fine and above become progressively harder to locate; Uncirculated coins with original color are uncommon enough that they reach three-figure and four-figure prices depending on color retention. An MS66 Red-Brown brought $4,800 at Heritage in December 2022.

The semi-key premium is consistent across grade levels, driven by the low mintage and the reality that many 1870 survivors were either worn heavily in circulation or melted during periodic Treasury cleanouts of old low-denomination coinage. A problem-free 1870 with even brown surfaces and no major marks is a better coin than the grade alone suggests.