American coins had mostly disappeared from circulation by 1862, driven into hiding by the uncertainty of the Civil War. Even the smallest of the small—the copper-nickel cents—were being hoarded. One temporary solution to the coin shortage was to issue fractional currency (small denomination paper money). Another strategy was to alter the composition and reduce the size of the 1-cent piece in imitation of the privately-issued bronze tokens that had flooded American commercial channels.
Yet another solution to the coin shortage was the addition of a new denomination to the American coin series, the bronze 2-cent piece introduced in 1864.
The 1864-dated pieces are the most common of these coins, and another large mintage followed in 1865. (It was more than enough, by the end of 1865, for every American to own one.) A look at this first-year example reveals what this short-lived denomination is most famous for—the first appearance on an American coin of the familiar motto “In God We Trust.”
Several versions of the sentiment were considered, among them “God And Country,” and “God Our Trust,” but it was this slightly modified phrase from The Star Spangled Banner
that won out (“And let this be our motto, in God is our trust.”)
The impetus behind the addition of the new motto was—as it was for the issue of the new coin itself—the uncertainties and the horrors of the American Civil War. Wars are a hateful thing to be sure, but civil wars are perhaps especially loathsome. And so it was for the United States. The North and South together suffered more military deaths during the war years of 1861-1865 than the U.S. suffered during WWII, and that on an 1860s population of about 30M, compared with the 130M or so during the 1940s.
There had been a lot of cheering and merry-making at the outbreak of the war in 1861, but the cheering soon stopped. By 1864, for many war-weary Americans, “In God We Trust” was more prayer than motto. And then at last, early in 1865, General Grant sat down with General Lee at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, and the Civil War ended.
Production of the 2-cent piece fell off sharply after the war. Silver coins were still in short supply—and would be for about a dozen years more—but with the end of the war the small cents reappeared in circulation. Too, in 1865 America’s second “nickel”—the copper-nickel 3-cent piece—was introduced. And then the new copper-nickel 5-cent piece (America’s third—and current—“nickel”) made its debut in 1866.
The need for a 2-cent piece had passed. Production continued to decrease until, after the 1,100 proof-only examples dated 1873, the coin was permanently discontinued. Many were recovered by the authorities, reappearing—after melting and recoining—as Indian Head pennies.
Almost fourteen decades later, and a near miss or two not to the contrary, the 2-cent denomination has never yet been revived for American use.