Two Cent Pieces--Circulation Strike Set 1864-1872 1 1

[Sandon]

     A set of U.S. two cent pieces issued for circulation, consisting of only ten coins including both 1864 varieties, can be an interesting but not terribly expensive collecting goal, especially if one is willing to settle for nicer circulated coins.    

   Bronze two cent pieces were the result of the severe coin shortage that resulted from the Civil War era suspension of specie (gold and silver) payments and hoarding of all coins, even copper nickel small cents. They were authorized by the Act of April 22, 1864, which also changed the composition of Indian cents to bronze. They were the first coins to carry the motto "In God We Trust", a result of Civil War religious fervor.  Interestingly, their diameter of 23 mm is the same as that of the Braided hair half cents last issued in 1857, although their 6.22-gram statutory weight is somewhat greater than that of the half cents, 5.44 grams.

   Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre's obverse design is a federal shield surrounded by a laurel wreath with protruding arrowheads and feathers, with a banner bearing the motto at the top and the date at the bottom. This obverse design is similar to but perhaps more attractive than that of the Shield nickel. The reverse design consists of the denomination “2 cents” surrounded by a wreath of grain and the legend.

   The 1864 mintage was a large for the time 19.8 million, some small percentage (perhaps 2%) of which have a prototype obverse with the motto in smaller, shorter letters. The 1865 mintage was also large at 13.6 million. The mintages then drop to about 3 million for each of 1866-68, then from 1.5 million for 1869 to only 65,000 for 1872, the only date truly scarce as a circulation strike.  (The 1864 Small Motto in any grade and nice pieces dated 1870 and 1871 can also be somewhat difficult to find.)  The demand for small change had been reduced by recent large mintages of cents, copper nickel three cent pieces and Shield nickels, as well as of the two cent pieces. The mint issued a total of 45,576,000 two cent pieces for circulation.

   The Act of February 12, 1873, abolished the two-cent denomination.  The only pieces bearing the date 1873 are proofs and as such are not included in a set of circulation strikes.

   My own set of circulation strikes, consisting entirely of uncertified coins, is housed in a page from an old Whitman bookshelf album for two, three and twenty cent pieces and Shield nickels. Although this album is long out of print, it may be possible to locate one or a Dansco album that has spaces for these coins. The images that follow are of the coins in my set.

1864 Small Motto

    This coin only grades "Good" but is definitely a "Small Motto". I acquired it for all of $49.50 at a local coin auction in 1996.  The NGC Price Guide now lists them at $250 in Good.

1864 Large Motto

   This example of the most common date of two cent piece is near mint state (AU 58?), with some remaining mint color. (A grading service might grade it as high as MS 62 BN.) It cost me all of $65 in 1990. An equivalent piece might cost around $100-$120 now.

1865 

   Although I noted this coin as a Ch. AU in my records after purchasing it in 1988 for $50, it would likely be given a brown mint state grade today. Like 1865 Indian cents, 1865 two cent pieces come with both "Plain" and "Fancy" 5s, this one being an example of the Fancy 5, in which the right upright of the 5 ends in a sharp point that curves upward. Both varieties are considered common.

1866

   This coin has uncirculated details, but what initially appears to be much original color is shown by glossy surfaces to be the result of chemical recoloring, which should result in a "cleaned" designation.  This wasn't clear to me when I bought the coin at a local auction in 2003.

1867

   

   I've owned this original Choice Very Fine example since around 1980, before I began recording prices that I paid. It likely cost under $10 back then.

Photos will resume as the next post.

 

[Sandon]

1868

   I acquired this nice AU coin in 2012 as an upgrade for a more worn example for about $102.

1869

   This coin just grades Choice Very Fine and was purchased in 2011 for about $34, also as an upgrade for a well-worn piece from many years earlier. Though common, these are harder to find than the earlier dates.

1870

   It can be difficult to find a nice example of this date, the first with a mintage of below one million (861,250). This one just grades Very Good to Fine (VG 10) or so and was purchased in 2013 for $25 as an upgrade to a piece with Good details and polished to an unnatural brilliance from my days as a young collector. A collector I know who is trying to put together an uncirculated set of two cent pieces is having difficulty finding a suitable piece of this date.

1871

   This better date (mintage 721,250) has AU details but some obverse stains and spots. The coin actually looks better than its photos. It cost just under $100 in 2003 and was also purchased as an upgrade to a well-worn example.

1872

   This is by far the lowest mintage date (65,000) but can be found with some searching, especially in lower grades. A portion of the "WE" in the motto shows, giving this one a grade of at least Very Good, though some roughness and an area of obverse corrosion could result in a "Details" grade.  This coin cost me $130 in 1995. They list $375 in Good today.

    My entire cost for this set totals approximately $675.  Although equivalent pieces would cost more today, the cost would still be quite affordable for most collectors.  Attractive uncirculated pieces, including certified Red and Brown ones, are also available at three figure prices, especially for the earlier dates. There are also many repunched dates and other die varieties in this series, making for some interesting searching and collecting.
 

[CIII]

Very cool set.  Thank you for sharing that.  That 1866 is very nice.

[leeg]

Great post. This is my Type Set coin:

 

[ldhair]

Fun group of coins. 

[zadok]

On 6/6/2024 at 2:15 PM, ldhair said:

Fun group of coins. 

...agree, the 2c, 3c n early nickels provide a "playground" area for those that want to collect short sets n dont have the time, resources or inclination to get into the more complex series....

[Henri Charriere]

On 6/7/2024 at 10:17 AM, zadok said:

...agree, the 2c, 3c n early nickels provide a "playground" area for those that want to collect short sets n dont have the time, resources or inclination to get into the more complex series....

Complexity?  There's a $4. PROOF "Stella" on eBay right now. Price?  In excess of $200,000. Even if I had all the time, money and wherewithall to acquire it, I wouldn't pick one up for . Know why?  I can't stand that misshapen star on the reverse. So right off the bat, that's out. I love everything about two-cent pieces. 

[Dave1384]

I have one . Was raw when I found it but Anacs gave it an  xf 45 details. Corroded. The 2 cent piece is an odd duck which is why I bought it 10 years ago. 150 or something close. 
 

[powermad5000]

Excellent full set Sandon! 

I do not have nearly the full set of these, but I also did not know what I was acquiring when I won this piece at auction. Apparently this is a very difficult variety to find. As of right now, NGC has only certified 2 in BN, none in RB, and none in RD that were straight graded and only 1 in details grade (UNC Details which is this coin that I own). Despite the details designation I feel proud to own this particular piece seeing just how few have been certified of this particular variety.