The History of United States Coinage As Illustrated by the Garrett Collection

The Coinage Act of 1857 prohibited the circulation of Spanish silver pieces and other foreign coins as legal tender, thus ending a long chapter in American monetary history. Coins of other nations soon disappeared from circulation within the United States. By the same legislation the cumbersome large cents, which by that time had become an annoyance to the public, and the little-used half cent denomination were abolished. In place of the old-style cent a new cent, the flying eagle design, of smaller diameter and made of copper-nickel alloy appeared. In 1864 the weight of the cent was reduced further, and the composition was changed to a mixture of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, an alloy which was continued for many years thereafter.

James Ross Snowden, director of the Mint from June 1853 to April 1861, had a deep interest in coins and wrote extensively about them. Under his directorship, particularly in the 1858-1860 years, restrikes were made of certain earlier issues, including 1856 flying eagle cents, Gobrecht silver dollars dated 1836-1839, and others. Some of these were sold for private profit through favored collectors and dealers. Others were traded to enrich the holdings of the Mint Cabinet. In 1861 James Pollock was appointed director of the Mint by Abraham Lincoln. He served until 1867, then again 1869-1873 following the first term of Dr. Henry Linderman. Pollock, born in Pennsylvania in 1810, graduated from Princeton College in 1831. In 1833 he began practicing law. He served in Congress for three terms. In 1854 he was elected governor of Pennsylvania.

In 1861 Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln, received communications from various people suggesting that the Deity be recognized on our coins as He was on issues of other nations. On November 30th of that year Chase wrote to the director of the Mint at Philadelphia urging this, stating that "No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins." He directed that ' 'You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest words possible this national recognition."

Various mottos such as "God Our Trust" and "God and Our Country" were proposed. "In God We Trust," from a verse in Francis Scott Key's Star Spangled Banner, was finally adopted. In 1864 IN GOD WE TRUST appeared for the first time on a coin for circulation, the two-cent piece. This denomination, produced until 1873, was a short-lived attempt to alleviate the need for an increased number of cents.

In 1865 the nickel three-cent piece made its debut, followed the next year by the nickel five-cent coin. Specie payments had been suspended since the Civil War, and silver and gold coins did not circulate. It was not until the late 1870s that Liberty seated dimes, quarters, half dollars, and other coins were again seen in circulation. In the meantime the need for a medium of exchange was filled by bronze and nickel-alloy coins as well as many different issues of paper fractional currency notes. Beginning in 1869 many pattern coins, designated as the Standard Silver series, were made. Lighter in weight than regular coins, the Standard Silver dime, quarter, and half dollar issues were intended to replace fractional currency notes in circulation. It was thought that their light weight would prevent melting or exporting. To enrich certain privileged Mint officials varieties were made in a multiplicity of formats including silver with plain edge, silver with reeded edge, copper with plain edge, copper with reeded edge, aluminum with plain edge, and aluminum with reeded edge. During the late 1860s and 1870s many complaints were voiced by numismatists concerning the distribution of pattern and Proof issues to those with connections. During part of this time Dr. Henry R. Linderman, an avid coin collector, was director of the Mint. He served his first term from April 1867 to April 1869, and then following a term by James Pollock, served again from April 1873 to December 1878 as Director of the Bureau of the Mint.

Linderman was born in Pennsylvania on December 25, 1825. He studied medicine and graduated from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. After serving in medical practice for several years he was appointed chief coiner at the Philadelphia Mint in 1855 through the efforts of his uncle who was a United States senator. In 1864 he resigned and entered business as a banker and broker in Philadelphia. Following an appointment by President Andrew Johnson, Linderman served as director of the Mint for two years, 1867-1869. He resigned but retained his interest in coinage. In 1870 he went to the Pacific Coast to investigate certain problems with regard to the branch mints. In 1871 he journeyed to Europe to study the coinage systems of various leading nations there. In the following year he helped to set up an improved government refinery at the San FranciscoMint. During the same year he wrote a detailed study of the gold and silver market of the world. The Mint Act of February 12, 1873, was largely his work.