Small Motto Means Big Things for 2-Cent Collectors

Sometimes little things mean a lot. In the case of the 1864 2-cent piece, that little thing happens to be the size of the motto. If it is a small motto, the price is much higher than if it is the more common large motto.

The 1864 2-cent piece was one of the most historic of all coins of the United States. Ironically, it probably would never have been produced at all were it not for a couple things that had taken place some years before 1864.

The idea of a 2-cent piece had been around since 1806. That idea had little support, but the notion of a 2-cent piece was to keep surfacing. The first thing that paved the way for a 2-cent piece was the reduction in size of the cent in 1857. Realistically, a 2-cent piece could not be smaller and less valuable than a 1-cent coin and while cents were the old large coppers, that presented a problem.

What fully opened the door was the Civil War, which produced widespread hoarding of coins. At first, that hoarding was gold and silver, but later on it also included cent coins. Officials were confronted with a dilemma, and one solution was to change the cent composition to bronze. Even if the cent was no longer worth a cent in metal, the people were desperate and were using encased postage stamps, tokens or anything else that would pass as change.

Bronze worked in England and France and would free the United States from rising nickel prices. The decision to switch to bronze fully opened the door to a 2-cent piece. One of the patterns under consideration had an obverse of George Washington, which would have been the first time an historic figure had appeared on a U.S. coin. That idea, however, got nowhere.

The historic first that did get approved was the use of the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The suggestion for a motto traced back to a letter written by a Rev. M.R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pa. Watkinson’s letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase fell on receptive ears and he ordered that it be placed on the 2-cent piece.

The first 1864 2-cent pieces had two varieties of motto called large and small. The difference is that in the small motto the “O” in “GOD” is almost round and higher than the “D,” while the “S” in “TRUST” has no serifs. In the large motto, the “O” is oval and lower than the “D” in “GOD” while the “S” in “TRUST” has marked serifs.

At the time, the people did not care. They were simply happy to have anything that would circulate. There is little question that the 19,847,500 2-cent pieces produced in 1864 were used widely.

Over the years, the small-motto variety of the 1864 2-cent piece has gained increased respect among collectors. While there was no breakdown in the 1864 mintage figures between large and small motto varieties, it is clear that the small motto had a much, much lower mintage. Just how low is the question.

We can make some observations based on today’s market prices. The 1864 small-motto 2-cent piece brings substantial price premiums in all grades. It is $4,100 in MS-65 and $250 in G-4. The only 2-cent piece dates that bring higher prices are the proof-only 1873 and the 1872. In historical importance, though, the small motto is No. 1.