Is “In God We Trust” Obsolete?

There has been recent discussion elsewhere that the use of the motto “In God We Trust” should be discontinued on U.S. coins and currency.

This motto started to be added to U.S. coinage during the Civil War. The first coin to bear this motto was the 1864 2 cents. There was no legislation then mandating the use of this motto on coins, though the Coinage Act of 1873 granted the Secretary of the Treasury the option to “cause the motto IN GOD WE TRUST to be inscribed on such coins as shall admit of such motto.” Some, but not all, U.S. coins eventually began to bear this motto in subsequent decades.

A version of this motto, “God And Our Right,” appeared on the Series 1864 $20 Interest Bearing Note.

When President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned sculptor August Saint-Gaudens to create new designs for the gold $10 eagle and $20 double eagle, he specifically instructed the artist to omit the motto. Roosevelt’s stated reasons were that coins were used in negative activities such as gambling and to facilitate crime.

Roosevelt wrote in November 1907, “My own feeling in the matter is due to my very firm conviction that to put such a motto on coins, or to use it in any kindred manner, not only does no good, but does positive harm, and is in effect irreverence, which comes dangerously close to sacrilege. ... Any use which tends to cheapen it, and, above all, any use which tends to secure its being treated in a spirit of levity, is from every standpoint profoundly to be regretted. ... it seems to me eminently unwise to cheapen such a motto by use on coins ... In all my life I have never heard any human being speak reverently of this motto on the coins or show any signs of its having appealed to any high emotion in him, but I have literally, hundreds of times, heard it used as an occasion of and incitement to ... sneering ... Every one must remember the innumerable cartoons and articles based on phrases like ‘In God we trust for the 8 cents,’ ... Surely, I am well within bounds when I say that a use of the phrase which invites constant levity of this type is most undesirable.”

The controversy over the omission of the motto stirred Congress to pass a coinage act in 1908 requiring that the motto be restored to these gold and to other U.S. coins. Since July 1, 1908, all U.S. gold coins, dollars, half dollars, and quarters included this motto. The Lincoln cent included the motto when it debuted in 1909, as did the Mercury dime in 1916 and the Jefferson nickel in 1938. All U.S. coins struck since 1938 bear this motto.

On July 11, 1955, President Eisenhower signed a law requiring that the motto be added to all U.S. currency. In addition, it finally mandated that the motto appear on all U.S. coins. The Series 1935G $1 Silver Certificate was the first U.S. paper money to depict “In God We Trust.”

In 1956, Congress unanimously passed a joint resolution declaring that “In God We Trust” be the national motto of the United States of America. This displaced the de facto motto “E Pluribus Unum,” which also appears on U.S. coins. This resolution was reaffirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2006 and the U.S. House of Representatives in 2011.

This motto is incorporated in state government symbols in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. Schools in six other states are required to display this motto. A number of other states specifically allow but do not mandate that this motto be on display in schools and/or some government buildings.

A poll by U.S.A Today/CNN/Gallup in 2003 found that 90 percent of Americans supported “In Gold We Trust” appearing on U.S. coins. However, a 2019 survey by College Pulse conducted for a conservative website found that two-thirds of students who identified themselves as Democrats opposed to the motto appearing on U.S. currency, while 94 percent of those who identified themselves as Republicans favored its appearance.

There have been multiple lawsuits over the years as to whether the use of this motto violates the Constitution’s First Amendment clause about the separation of church and state. Multiple federal appellate decisions have not struck down its usage on coins and currency, though the U.S. Supreme Court has not directly considered this issue.

The consideration of whether to discontinue the use of “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins and currency, which has been in effect for only part of America’s history, is certain to elicit strong opinions on all sides. But, as America has become more secular over the decades, is it now a subject worth discussion?

Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He is also the recipient of the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, 2017 Exemplary Service Award, 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award, and 2008 Presidential Award. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild (including in 2021 for Best Investment Newsletter), the Professional Numismatists Guild, the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Mich., and writes Liberty’s Outlook, a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries titled “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio archives posted at www.1320wils.com).