On the death of the first chief coiner, Henry Voigt, in early 1814, Eckfeldt was appointed by President James Madison as successor. He served in that capacity for a quarter century. During his tenure, he continued to improve the machinery at the Philadelphia Mint. Eckfeldt set aside "master coins"—coins struck with extra care using new dies and polished planchets. He also put aside interesting foreign coins sent to the mint as bullion. These pieces became the Mint's Cabinet, or coin collection. To fill gaps in this collection, he used old dies to strike postdated coins. Specialists have discovered that some dies he chose for this purpose had not been used together to strike coins for commerce, thus creating unique specimens.
Chief coiner
Adam Eckfeldt
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
He put aside interesting foreign coins sent to the mint as bullion. These pieces became the Mint's Cabinet, or coin collection. Eckfeldt set aside "master coins"—coins struck with extra care using new dies and polished planchets. He also put aside interesting foreign coins sent to the mint as bullion. These pieces became the Mint's Cabinet, or coin collection. To fill gaps in this collection, he used old dies to strike postdated coins. He improved the machinery, and set aside the "master coins" and interesting foreign coins. Eckfeldt set aside "master coins"—coins struck with extra care using new dies and polished planchets. He also put aside interesting foreign coins sent to the mint as bullion.
who was adam eckfeldt?
user
John Adam Eckfeldt was a worker and official of the United States Mint.
assistant
when did he start designing coins?
user
1793
assistant
which coins did he work on in the mint?
user
1792 half disme
assistant
what was his contribution as a chief coiner?
user
Eckfeldt served a quarter century as chief coiner, during which time the Philadelphia Mint moved to new premises. As he set aside unusual coins brought in as bullion, he started the Mint's coin cabinet, which evolved into the National Numismatic Collection. Even after his 1839 retirement, Eckfeldt continued to perform the duties of chief coiner; his death in 1852 caused his replacement, Franklin Peale, to seek an assistant.
Adam Eckfeldt | Introduction
On the death of the first chief coiner, Henry Voigt, in early 1814, Eckfeldt was appointed by President James Madison as successor. He served in that capacity for a quarter century. During his tenure, he continued to improve the machinery at the Philadelphia Mint. Eckfeldt set aside "master coins"—coins struck with extra care using new dies and polished planchets. He also put aside interesting foreign coins sent to the mint as bullion. These pieces became the Mint's Cabinet, or coin collection. To fill gaps in this collection, he used old dies to strike postdated coins. Specialists have discovered that some dies he chose for this purpose had not been used together to strike coins for commerce, thus creating unique specimens.
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
John Adam Eckfeldt (June 15, 1769 – February 6, 1852) was a worker and official in the early days of the United States Mint. A lifelong Philadelphian, Eckfeldt served as the second chief coiner of the Mint, from 1814 until 1839. Eckfeldt's father owned a large smithy and involved himself in early attempts at American coinage. Adam Eckfeldt built early presses for the Mint, engraved some of its early dies, and was responsible for the designs of early American copper coinage, as well as the 1792 half disme which some authorities consider the first United States coin. He was appointed assistant coiner of the Mint in 1796, and became chief coiner on his predecessor's death in 1814.
Adam Eckfeldt | Introduction
Among the pieces acquired for the Mint was a Brasher doubloon, of which only six are known today. Eckfeldt often spent from his own funds to acquire the coins for the Mint. The collection eventually evolved into the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection. In 1828, Eckfeldt again became involved in the real estate transactions to expand operations at the Philadelphia Mint. For $1,000, he purchased one of the lots he had rented in 1805. After the mint moved to new premises in the 1830s, Eckfeldt discovered that the lot he had purchased had a cloud, or irregularity, on its title; he was able to clear it and sold it in 1837 for the same sum for which he had bought it.
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
The new mint building was at Juniper and Chestnut Streets, only six blocks from Eckfeldt's home at Juniper and Vine.
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
By October 1795 he was on the mint's payroll, as a die forger and turner, at a salary of $500 per year. On January 1, 1796, Mint Director Elias Boudinot appointed him as assistant coiner, with the consent of President Washington. His duties in that capacity were broad. In 1805, at Boudinot's request, Eckfeldt eliminated a security problem for the Mint by renting two houses adjacent to its operations, allowing it to shut an internal alley to public access. The following year, new Mint Director Robert Patterson requested a pay increase of $200 for Eckfeldt, writing to President Thomas Jefferson that Eckfeldt had "the management of the whole coining department".
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
When the Mint's first cents (produced in 1793) were found to be excessively crude and attracted public ridicule, Eckfeldt was called upon to design replacements. He placed a wreath on the back of the cent instead of the original chain, and placed a trefoil under Liberty's head on the obverse. He also engraved the first half cent dies later the same year. Eckfeldt continued to work intermittently for the Philadelphia Mint; in 1793, he built a device for automatically feeding planchets into the die collar and ejecting the struck coins, and the mint's records reveal that he did piecework there in July 1795.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
In response, parliamentary law ordered close examination of the weight and fineness of coins worldwide, which determined that coins produced in the United States were more uniform than the coins of other nations, a finding which enhanced Eckfeldt's worldwide reputation as an assayer. Appointed to his post during Andrew Jackson's presidency, Eckfeldt held that position until his death.
Jacob R. Eckfeldt | Formative years
In 1792, the Mint acquired three balances from Eckfeldt, who also lent the Mint his lathe (used for turning dies). Eckfeldt is believed to have made the die from which the 1792 half disme, considered by some the first official U.S. coin, was struck—in 1829, a visitor to the Mint met Eckfeldt and later described him as "an artist [who] made the first die used in it". Other later accounts document Eckfeldt's role in this striking: an 1863 auction sold a half disme supposedly given by Eckfeldt to demonstrate his work. Eckfeldt is given as the source for the tradition that the half dismes were struck at the request of President George Washington to be used as presents.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
Born in Philadelphia in March 1803, Jacob R. Eckfeldt was a son of Adam Eckfeldt, chief coiner at the United States Mint. He followed his father into the same area of government service, entering the U.S. Mint during an early period in his life. He then steadily worked his way up at the Mint until becoming chief assayer. During his tenure, he reported problems with certain lots of English sovereigns that had been sent to the mint for recoinage, noting that these particular lots fell below the Mint's standard. Denied by English authorities as "impossible" because the London mint "makes no mistakes," Eckfeldt was vindicated by the resulting investigation which confirmed Eckfeldt's findings.
Jacob R. Eckfeldt | Formative years
Eckfeldt operated his screw press to strike these roughly 1,500 pieces on July 13, 1792. Since the first Philadelphia Mint was still under construction at the time, these coins were produced in the cellar of John Harper, saw maker, at Sixth and Cherry Streets in Philadelphia. In his annual message to Congress late that year, Washington noted the ongoing construction of a mint building and stated: "There has also been a small beginning in the coinage of half dismes, the want of small coins in circulation calling the first attention to them." Eckfeldt also produced a pattern disme, of which only a few were struck.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
During Eckfeldt's childhood, the thirteen British colonies along the Atlantic coast of what is now the United States revolted, and so the United States of America secured its independence. After the United States Constitution was ratified, Congress and many government offices came to be housed in Philadelphia, including the newborn Mint of the United States. Adam Eckfeldt built the first screw press for the new facility in 1792, the same year that the Mint Act of 1792 was passed by Congress authorizing a mint, and cut the obverse die for the experimental Birch cent of that year. He also built other machinery for the Mint, and helped superintend the early coining.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
Bowers, in his sylloge of the Bass Collection, particularly blames these irregularities on Oliver Bosbyshell, chief coiner at Philadelphia from 1876 to 1885. During that period, quantities of pattern coins, restrikes, and pieces struck in different metals flowed to well-connected collectors and dealers, and Bosbyshell sold a large personal collection of such pieces shortly after leaving office as chief coiner. Although Bosbyshell returned as Philadelphia Mint superintendent from 1889 to 1894, he does not appear to have resumed his illicit activities. The relatively large mintage of about 6,000 in 1887 was due to a fad sweeping the country whereby men would present their lady friends with a coin with one side ground off and replaced by the woman's initials.
Three-dollar piece | Final years and termination
When Adam Eckfeldt retired in 1839, he recommended Peale as his successor. As the Senate was not sitting, Peale was given a recess appointment as Chief Coiner of the Philadelphia Mint by President Martin Van Buren on March 27, 1839. On January 23, 1840, after the Senate reconvened, Van Buren nominated Peale; the Senate gave its approval on February 17. Despite his retirement, Eckfeldt continued to come to the mint every day until shortly before his death in February 1852, performing the function of Chief Coiner and leaving Peale with time on his hands. Soon after his appointment, Peale began to engage in a private business on the Mint's premises.
Franklin Peale | Appointment and early years
When the dies used proved too brittle and cracked easily, Eckfeldt came up with the idea of spraying water on the face of the die so the steel would temper evenly.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
The act authorizing the gold dollar and double eagle precipitated conflict at the Philadelphia Mint. There the officers, including Chief Coiner Franklin Peale, were mostly the friends and relations of Director Patterson. The outsider in their midst was Chief Engraver James B. Longacre, successor to Gobrecht (who had died in 1844). A former copper-plate engraver, Longacre had been appointed through the political influence of South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun. Patterson despised Calhoun, and Longacre became a loner at the mint. Most of Peale's formal duties were performed by his predecessor, Adam Eckfeldt, who continued to do the work of chief coiner despite his retirement.
Liberty Head double eagle | Preparation
Christian Gobrecht (December 23, 1785 – July 23, 1844) was the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1840 until his death in 1844. He was responsible for designing the famous "Seated Liberty" designs, which were in turn the direct inspiration for the design of the Trade Dollar. He also designed the Gobrecht Dollar, which was struck in small quantities from 1836 to 1838 and later inspired the Flying Eagle cent. He also designed the obverse sides for the Liberty head (aka Coronet Head) Quarter Eagle, Half Eagle, and Eagle gold coins, as well as the "braided hair" type Half cent and Large cent coins.
Christian Gobrecht | Introduction
In 1795, Scot engraved designs for the first gold coins of the U.S. Mint that included a drapery for Miss Liberty. The drapery was continued with silver coins starting in 1795, with the famous Draped Bust design. After several reverse issues for silver and gold coins with small eagle designs, Scot introduced the Heraldic Eagle reverse in 1796, a modification of the Great Seal of the United States. Upon request, Robert Scot penned a four page letter to Congress in 1795 outlining his responsibilities as Chief Engraver. Robert Scot received a salary of $1200 for each year that he was employed by the United States Mint.
Robert Scot | Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
Taxay noted that this was only true because the retired Adam Eckfeldt was still performing the duties of that office without salary, and this ceased in February 1852 when Eckfeldt died after a brief illness. The death of his predecessor caused Peale to write "a frantic letter" to the new Mint Director (Patterson had retired), George N. Eckert, stating that he urgently needed an assistant.
Franklin Peale | Downfall
In 1791, Fitch and Voigt both applied for jobs in the new United States Mint, hoping that while they held these offices they would have time to perfect the steamboat. In their petition, Voigt was described as perfectly acquainted with all machinery and processes of coining, and capable of making the necessary instruments himself, having worked in a mint in Germany in his younger years, during which he had introduced valuable improvements. Fitch was unsuccessful in this endeavor, but Voigt obtained an appointment as Chief Coiner, a position he held for many years. Although Voigt was married with children, he had an illicit affair with a widow and landlady, Mrs.
Henry Voigt | Chief coiner
He was appointed to a post at the Philadelphia Mint in 1869, and became chief coiner in 1876 and superintendent in 1889, serving for four years. One of Bosbyshell's underlings at the mint stole gold bars and, as they were not all recovered when the culprit was arrested, Bosbyshell was held responsible for the loss by virtue of his office. He was absolved of this liability by act of Congress in 1899. In his later years, he was an officer of an insurance company; he died in 1921.
Oliver Bosbyshell | Introduction
During the years 1807-1817, Assistant Engraver John Reich was employed by the United States Mint, and engraved the coin designs of those years. Robert Scot did all of the coinage die engraving at the United States Mint from Reich's resignation until his death in 1823.
Robert Scot | Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
William Kneass ( "niece"; September 25, 1780 – August 27, 1840) was the second Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1824 until his death in 1840. Kneass is credited with designing the "Classic Head" motif, which appeared on numerous denominations of American currency, including the gold quarter eagle ($2.50) and half eagle ($5.00) gold pieces from 1834 to 1839. He also modified John Reich's "Capped Bust" design for use on the half dime through half-dollar from 1829 to 1837.
William Kneass | Introduction
In 1820, he became an assistant to his father at the museum, and managed it after Charles Peale's death in 1827. In 1833, Peale was hired by the Mint, and was sent for two years to Europe to study and report back on coining techniques. He returned with plans for improvement, and designed the first steam-powered coinage press in the United States, installed in 1836. Peale was made Melter and Refiner of the Philadelphia Mint that year, and Chief Coiner three years later upon the retirement of the incumbent, Adam Eckfeldt, who continued in his work without pay. Eckfeldt's labor allowed Peale to run a medal business using Mint property.
Franklin Peale | Introduction
Eckfeldt was reluctant to adopt all Peale's recommendations, telling Peale's nephew, engineer George Sellers, "If Mr. Peale had full swing he would turn everything upside down ... he wants something better and no doubt he would have it if we were starting anew." As improvements crept in despite Eckfeldt's caution, the Chief Coiner saw their value and became more enthusiastic, noting the savings in working time afforded by the Contamin lathe, which had been imported from France after being seen by Peale there. To help deal with the increased output from the Philadelphia Mint, Peale invented a piling-box, allowing planchets or coins to be quickly stacked, and a counting board, speeding the work of the clerks.
Franklin Peale | Melter and Refiner
Robert Scot was commissioned Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793, after the tragic death of non-commissioned engraver Joseph Wright from the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. To continue his obligations for Dobson's "Encyclopædia", Samuel Allardice was made partner with Scot, and the engraving firm of Scot & Allardice would utilize apprentices to finish a large number of book illustrations until their partnership ended in 1796. The Coinage Act of 1792 mandated design requirements for United States coins, including an obverse "emblematic of liberty" and a reverse with "the figure or representation of an eagle." Scot's initial coinage designs included the Liberty Cap half cent and the Flowing Hair silver coins.
Robert Scot | Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
Tyler transmitted Longacre's nomination to the Senate on December 17, 1844, which confirmed Longacre without recorded opposition on January 7, 1845. According to numismatist David Lange, Longacre was glad to get the position because engravers were receiving less work due to the advent of daguerrotype photography. According to coin dealer and author Q. David Bowers, upon appointment as chief engraver, Longacre "found that he had entered a hornet's nest of intrigue, politics, and infighting, dominated by Franklin Peale, chief coiner since 1839". Peale sent Mint personnel to work on his private residence, and in addition to his official duties—mostly performed by his predecessor, Adam Eckfeldt, who continued in his work without pay despite his retirement—he had a thriving side business preparing dies for private medals using government resources.
James B. Longacre | Appointment
Then I got much more sophisticated—I got the guy who did the gumball machines at the drugstore to sell me all the coins. Now we started to get this thing organized! I could sort through large quantities. I was 12." He soon branched out into the area of American colonial coinage and political memorabilia, and later wrote several reference works in this field.
Kenneth W. Rendell | Early life
In 1729, the Master of the Mint admitted, with some apprehension, that John Croker, Chief Engraver to the Mint since 1705, was then "the only man now living who has hitherto made Puncheons for the Head on the Coin" and recommended the appointment of an assistant in the shape of Tanner, then aged only 24. When Croker died on 21 March 1741, Tanner succeeded him. After 1739 he engraved most of the dies for the coins of George II and George III. Tanner died on 14 March 1775, after retiring from the Mint.
John Sigismund Tanner | Life
Such coins were designed by Boston sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt at the request of the President's friend, William Sturgis Bigelow. After some difficulty, the Mint was successful in this work, though Pratt was unhappy at modifications made by the Mint's engravers, headed by longtime Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber.
Indian Head gold pieces | Introduction
Eckfeldt married twice. No children were born of his brief first marriage in 1792 to Maria Hahn, which ended with her death; his second marriage to Margaretta Bausch produced six children. Among them were his daughter Susanna, who married William Ewing DuBois, first curator of the Mint's coin collection. Jacob Reese Eckfeldt, one of Adam's sons, was for forty years (1832–1872) Assayer of the United States Mint. Jacob's son Jacob Branch Eckfeldt exceeded both forebears in time of service, working at the Mint for 64 years, from 1865 to 1929. Adam Eckfeldt had a taste for horticulture and owned rural property in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, which was inherited by his two sons after his death.
Adam Eckfeldt | Private and family life
In Longacre's first years as chief engraver, no original designs were required for coins. Gobrecht had redesigned every denomination of U.S. coinage between 1835 and 1842, and his successor had time to learn arts necessary for coin production that he had not needed as a maker of print engravings. These arts included coin design, making of punches for design elements, and die sinking. Longacre's work in the private sector had involved cutting lines into a copper plate which was then used to print reproductions. Patterson wrote in August 1845 to Treasury Secretary Robert J. Walker that Longacre "is a gentleman of excellent character, highly regarded in this community, and has acquired some celebrity as an engraver of copper; but he is not a Die-Sinker.
James B. Longacre | Patterson/Peale years (1844–1853)
At the same time Gotzkowsky supported Saxony to pay its war contribution to Prussia. In the summer of 1761 he ordered 400.000 thaler in debased coins not from the Prussian mint masters, but from Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann. Since August Schimmelmann produced debased coins in Rethwisch, and sent for 100.000 thaler to Leipzig. As the (foreign) debased coins, like Plöner and Zerbster, Bernburger coins were not accepted (by Frederick and Ephraim & Itzig) Gotzkowsky suggested to spread half of the amount under the Allies. The men were arrested in Bielefeld and the money was confiscated and melted down. Gotzkowsky was not impressed, in January 1762 he helped Leipzig for the second time.
Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky | Biography
In September 1836, Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt began sinking the working dies that would be used to strike the coins. However, before production could begin, Patterson ordered that Gobrecht's name be added to the dollar. His name appeared as "C. GOBRECHT F", short for "Christian Gobrecht Fecit", meaning "Christian Gobrecht made it". The Gobrecht dollar was first struck in December 1836. Several pieces were produced and distributed throughout Philadelphia. Despite a positive reception for the overall design, many criticized the prominent display of Gobrecht's name on the coin. Gobrecht requested that his name be removed entirely from the face of the coin; instead, the engraver was instructed to change its size and placement at the behest of Patterson.
Gobrecht dollar | Production
Thompson had a lifelong interest in numismatics, from his first article "Coin collecting" for his school magazine in 1959, to his most important article ‘Central or local production of seventeenth-century tokens’, published in the British Numismatic Journal of 1989, in which he successfully established that the vast majority of these were struck in London, most of them by engravers and coiners working at the Tower Mint. He made hundreds of contributions to journal and periodicals. Many of his shorter notes were connected with publication of the Norweb Collection of Tokens of the British Isles, 1575-1750 - the largest privately owned collection - was published in eight volumes in the Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles series, 1984 to 2011, and will be probably be seen as his greatest achievement.
Robert H. Thompson | Contribution to numismatics
All coins (copper and silver) bore the same obverse. Robert Scot, Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, 1793–1823, transformed a portrait of a society lady by Gilbert Stuart into a rather buxom Ms. Liberty. Some accounts identify the woman as Philadelphia socialite Ann Willing Bingham. She remained essentially unchanged for several years with the exception of an extra curl added to her flowing locks in 1798.
Draped Bust | Obverse
In 1869, Bosbyshell was hired as Register of Deposits of the Philadelphia Mint, and moved to that city. The Chief Coiner, A. Loudon Snowden, was impressed by Bosbyshell, and promoted him to Assistant Coiner in 1872. When Snowden left the Mint to accept a position as postmaster in 1876, President Ulysses Grant promoted Bosbyshell in his place. Grant nominated Bosbyshell on December 14, 1876; he was confirmed by the Senate on December 26. According to numismatic historian Q. David Bowers, Bosbyshell, while serving as Chief Coiner, used Mint facilities and out-of-date dies to strike rare three-dollar pieces, including the 1873, 1875, and 1876 issues.
Oliver Bosbyshell | Return to Pennsylvania
Akerman published a considerable number of works on coins, the more important being: He also wrote :
John Yonge Akerman | Publications
Coinage redesign was being considered during Barber's early years as chief engraver. Superintendent Snowden believed that the base-metal coins then being struck (the one-, three-, and five-cent pieces) should have uniform designs, as did many of the silver pieces, and also some gold coins. He had Barber create experimental pattern coins. In spite of Snowden's desires, the only design modified was that of the five-cent coin, or nickel; Barber's design, known as the Liberty Head nickel, entered production in 1883. The new coin had its denomination designated by a Roman numeral "V" on the reverse; the three-cent coin had always had a "III" to designate its denomination.
Barber coinage | Charles Barber
In 1794, Congress lowered the chief coiner's bond to $5,000 and the assayer's to $1,000, and President Washington's appointees to those positions were able to qualify and take office. Silver coinage began that year. The first deposit of gold to be struck into coins was made at the Mint in February 1795, by Moses Brown of Boston. Around May 1795, the first Mint director, David Rittenhouse, set engraver Robert Scot the task of preparing dies for an issue of gold coins. Rittenhouse resigned in June, before the work came to fruition, and was replaced by Henry deSaussure. The new director took office on July 9, 1795, and pressed to have the gold coin project completed with great speed.
Turban Head eagle | Inception
The 1,758 coins that were struck by Chief Coiner Henry Voigt, though acceptable, were poorly struck due to issues with the coining press that was used during early production at the Mint. It was a man-powered screw press intended for use on coins no larger than a half dollar.
Flowing Hair dollar | Minting
On January 29, 1824, Kneass was appointed Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. During his tenure as Chief Engraver, he oversaw production of gold coinage, and circulating coinage. In 1830, Kneass redesigned the quarter, and in 1834, redesigned the gold coinage. He also introduced a new Liberty head on the half dollar, a design that was modified several times over the next two years. In 1835 Mint director Samuel Moore wrote of him: "Mr. Kneass, our present engraver ... is an acceptable, popular and very useful Officer, perhaps one of the most rapid in execution in the U. States.
William Kneass | Chief engraver of the U.S. Mint
(A term that Jöns Jacob Berzelius would later coin.)
Gottlieb Kirchhoff | Introduction
The coin design had not been approved by Congress. Coin production on a large scale did not begin until 1793. Rittenhouse resigned from the Mint on June 30, 1795, due to poor health. In 1871 Congress approved a commemorative medal in his honor.
David Rittenhouse | United States Mint
Charles Edward Barber (November 16, 1840 – February 18, 1917) was the sixth chief engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. He had a long and fruitful career in coinage, designing most of the coins produced at the mint during his time as chief engraver. He did full coin designs, and he designed about 30 medals in his lifetime. The Barber coinage were named after him. In addition, Barber designed a number of commemorative coins, some in partnership with assistant engraver George T. Morgan. For the popular Columbian half dollar, and the Panama-Pacific half dollar and quarter eagle, Barber designed the obverse and Morgan the reverse.
Charles E. Barber | Introduction
Major-General Ainslie, for he had been promoted previous to his recall, was now free from any active employment. Nature had designed him for a savant, not a soldier. His hobby was collecting coins. The taste for coin-collecting had much decreased in England since the days of Addison, and he found a clear field for his labours. He made a specialty of Anglo-Norman coins, and travelled all over England, and, what was then a more uncommon thing, all over the rural districts of Normandy and Brittany, in search of coins. He published in 1830 the result of his labours in a magnificent quarto entitled "Anglo-French Coinage," adorned with many illustrations.
George Robert Ainslie | Coin collector
Because of President Washington's connection with these early coins, numismatic folklore holds that the portrait on the obverse is that of First Lady Martha Washington and that some of the coins were struck using melted-down silverware from the Washington household. However, there is no solid evidence for either of these assertions.
1792 half disme | Origins
In addition to striking the pattern coins in 1849, officials at the Philadelphia Mint continued to experiment with three-cent silvers. The matter was caught up in ongoing conflict between Mint chief coiner Franklin Peale, and the chief engraver, James B. Longacre, who each prepared designs. Peale produced a coin depicting a Liberty cap, based on a design prepared by Longacre's late predecessor, Christian Gobrecht, in 1836. Longacre prepared a design similar to the coin that was eventually released. On March 2, 1851, the day before the legislation was passed, Longacre, with the reluctant permission of Patterson (a Peale ally) sent Treasury Secretary Thomas Corwin samples of his proposed three-cent piece, along with a letter explaining the symbology.
Three-cent silver | Preparation
James Barton Longacre (August 11, 1794 – January 1, 1869) was an American portraitist and engraver, and the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 until his death. Longacre is best known for designing the Indian Head cent, which entered commerce in 1859, and for the designs of the Shield nickel, Flying Eagle cent and other coins of the mid-19th century. Longacre was born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in 1794. He ran away to Philadelphia at age 12, where he became an apprentice in a bookstore. His artistic talent developed and he was released to apprentice in an engraving firm.
James B. Longacre | Introduction
Rittenhouse was dissatisfied with Eckfeldt's designs, and with the criticism of the Chain cents fresh in his mind, he hired Joseph Wright to do yet another redesign in the denomination's troubled first year. Wright's design faced Liberty to the right and "tamed" her wild hair. The Phrygian cap was added as an ancient symbol of freedom. The reverse design was revised to a recognizable laurel wreath, and future Chief Engraver Robert Scot had a hand in several minor revisions to the design over the next three years. This design was more successful and it was continued into 1796. In 1795, planchets became too thin for the edge lettering because of a weight reduction, so the mint stopped edge lettering on the cent, and the rest of these coins were made with a plain edge.
Large cent | Liberty Cap cents (1793–1796)
Imhoff also collected coins and he cataloged the coin collection of Duke Albert V of Bavaria.
Willibald Imhoff | Introduction
The officers at the Philadelphia Mint, including Chief Coiner Franklin Peale, were mostly the friends and relations of Director Patterson. The outsider in their midst was Chief Engraver James B. Longacre, successor to Gobrecht (who had died in 1844). A former copper-plate engraver, Longacre had been appointed through the political influence of South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun. When Longacre began work on the two new coins in early 1849, he had no one to assist him. Longacre wrote the following year that he had been warned by a Mint employee that one of the officers (undoubtedly Peale) planned to undermine the chief engraver's position by having the work of preparing designs and dies done outside Mint premises.
Gold dollar | Preparation
Mary Krafft. She gave birth to two children by him. Fitch, in an attempt to save Krafft's reputation, married her. This caused a break in the Fitch–Voigt partnership. Afterward, all of Fitch's attempts to build additional steamboats were unsuccessful. Fitch later described Voigt's participation. He claimed that the principal part of the original thoughts were his own, but that he could hardly propose anything that Voigt would not make some improvement upon, and that he had left the actual execution of production and fabrication to Voigt. "He is a man most ready of mechanical improvements of any on earth, and I am persuaded that I never could have completed the steamboat without him."
Henry Voigt | Chief coiner
Tanner designed a sixpence for the Royal Mint during the reign of King George II, the coin became popularly known as the "tanner" and this appellation preserved until decimalisation in 1971.
John Sigismund Tanner | Introduction
Philadelphia numismatist Samuel Chapman wrote to Roosevelt in early December to criticize the new coins. The indentations in the new coins would harbor dirt and germs, Chapman argued; the coins could be easily counterfeited by carving a disc of metal. They could not adequately stack, and they were in any event not handsome, with the Indian "emaciated". According to numismatic historian Roger Burdette, "Chapman's letter caused some consternation at the White House". The President prepared a reply in which he expressed himself strongly to Chapman, but Bigelow persuaded him to substitute a milder letter over Bigelow's signature, defending the new coins.
Indian Head gold pieces | Production, circulation, and collecting
Jacob Reese Eckfeldt (March 1803-August 9, 1872) was an assayer for the United States Mint in Philadelphia.
Jacob R. Eckfeldt | Introduction
coins, viewed Longacre and his works less favorably, "uniform in their dullness, lack of inspiration, and even quaintness, Longacre's contributions to patterns and regular coinage were a decided step backwards from the art of [Thomas] Sully, [Titian] Peale, [Robert] Hughes, and Gobrecht" and "whatever his previous qualities as an engraver of portraits, he seems not to have brought much imagination to his important post at the Philadelphia Mint." However, Vermeule considered the Flying Eagle cent more of a work of art, far above the mundane. In his 1991 article, McKenzie notes Vermeule's concerns, but considers Longacre's work important for its use of American symbols, including the representations of Native Americans.
James B. Longacre | Death and assessment
Indeed I do not know that he has ever made an attempt in this art." By December of that year, the Mint director had written to Walker in praise of Longacre, stating that the engraver had "more taste and judgment in making devices for an improved coinage here than have been exhibited by any of his predecessors. He has shown too that he is quite competent to make the required model from his drawings." Taxay attributed Patterson's lavish praise of Longacre to continued attempts by Leonard to gain the post of chief engraver. A number of blunders can be seen among the early coins produced at the Mint under Longacre, though it is uncertain to whom these errors should be attributed.
James B. Longacre | Patterson/Peale years (1844–1853)
Harding. Sketches were prepared by commission chairman Reverend John Baer Stoudt and converted to plaster models by the Mint's aging chief engraver, George T. Morgan. The models were initially rejected by the Commission of Fine Arts, which required revisions under the supervision of Buffalo nickel designer James Earle Fraser. Of the 300,000 coins authorized by Congress, fewer than half were actually struck, and of these, 55,000 were returned to the Mint and released into circulation. The coin excited some controversy because of its sponsorship by a religious group. The choice of William the Silent and Gaspard de Coligny to appear on the obverse was also questioned as the men are considered martyrs by the Huguenots and died decades before the voyage of the "Nieuw Nederlandt".
Huguenot-Walloon half dollar | Introduction
He struck out on his own in 1819, making a name providing illustrations for popular biographical books. He portrayed the leading men of his day; support from some of them, such as South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun, led to his appointment as chief engraver after the death of Christian Gobrecht in 1844. In Longacre's first years as a chief engraver, the Philadelphia Mint was dominated by Mint Director Robert M. Patterson and Chief Coiner Franklin Peale. Conflict between Longacre and the two men developed after Congress ordered a new gold dollar and double eagle, with both to be designed by Longacre.
James B. Longacre | Introduction
The chief engraver wrote to Mint Director Snowden that the three-dollar piece, which went into production in 1854, was the first time he had been allowed artistic freedom in designing a coin. The gold dollar was altered the same year to make the planchet both thinner and wider; Longacre modified his princess design for the gold dollar. For the reverse of the coins, Longacre created a wreath of wheat, corn, tobacco, and cotton, blending the agricultural products of the North and the South. This wreath would also be used on the reverse of the Flying Eagle cent in 1856; reused on the dime beginning in 1860, the "cereal wreath" would be Longacre's last surviving design on coinage, remaining with modifications until the 1916 abandonment of the Barber dime.
James B. Longacre | Prolific designer (1853–1863)
David Rittenhouse was treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1789, and with these skills and the help of George Washington, he became the first director of the United States Mint. On April 2, 1792, the United States Mint opened its doors, but would not produce coins for almost four months. Rittenhouse believed that the design of the coin made the coin a piece of artwork. The first coins were made from flatware that was provided by Washington himself on the morning of July 30, 1792. The coins were hand-struck by Rittenhouse, to test the new equipment, and were given to Washington as a token of appreciation for his contributions to making the United States Mint a reality.
David Rittenhouse | United States Mint
Cleveland is credited with fifteen designs for United States coins and medals. His most notable work is the reverse design of the 2007 American Platinum Eagle. Cleveland’s full United States Mint Coin Design Credits are:
Thomas S. Cleveland | Work
Curtis was well aware of the difficulties with the Mint's failed competition for new silver coins in 1891, which had led to the issuance of the Barber coinage, designed by Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. The new coins were widely criticized, and Curtis counseled Ellsworth to gain control of the commemorative coin's design process, to ensure both a better design and the use of the Lotto portrait. No United States coin had depicted an actual person, although the goddess of Liberty had often been portrayed. By May 1892, it was apparent that additional funds were needed to complete the fair's buildings.
Columbian half dollar | Inception
Due to Gilder's prominence in the coinage redesign movement, Leech felt the need to respond personally, which he did in early August. He told Gilder that "artistic designs for coins, that would meet the ideas of an art critic like yourself, and artists generally, are not always adapted for practical coining". He assured Gilder that the designs which Barber had already prepared had met with the approval of Mitchell, though Leech himself had some improvements to suggest to the chief engraver. Barber's first attempt, modeled for the half dollar, disregarded Leech's instructions. Instead of a design based on French coinage, it depicted a standing figure of Columbia, bearing a "pileus" atop a liberty pole; an eagle spreading its wings stands behind her.
Barber coinage | Preparation
In late December 2011, Steven donated a 1792 half disme to the ANA Money Museum. The coin, purchased for $220,000, was donated with “no strings attached.” He said, “This donation is my way of giving back to the ANA for the wonderful things that they do for collectors.”
Steven Contursi | 1792 Half Disme
The Mint's Chief Engraver, George T. Morgan, skillfully removed the sword from the already-prepared coinage hubs even before Baker cabled his own approval of the revised design he had not seen.
Mary Margaret O'Reilly | Assistant director
His sense of touch became phenomenally acute and he was able to identify minor variants of certain coins by subtle tactile differences alone. The portrait displayed on the upper right side of this page, from the frontispiece to one of the volumes of his work shows him surrounded by some of his favourite coins and antiquities in 1780, when he was already over 98 years of age.
Joseph Pellerin | Pioneer of numismatics
After Kneass' stroke, most all pattern and die work was done by Gobrecht from then on, including the Gobrecht Dollars, which were minted briefly in small quantities from 1836 to 1839. Shortly after Kneass' death in 1840, Gobrecht was appointed Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint on December 21, 1840. During his tenure as Chief Engraver of the Mint, Gobrecht produced perhaps what he is mainly known for, the Seated Liberty dollar, based on sketches by Thomas Sully, and Titian Peale. That design remained on U.S. coinage as late as 1891 Gobrecht died in July 1844; his place as chief engraver was taken by James B.
Christian Gobrecht | Chief engraver of the U.S. Mint
The Commission had trouble agreeing on a design with Mint Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock, and asked Philadelphia attorney, arts patron and numismatist John Frederick Lewis (1860–1932) to submit sketches. These were adapted by Sinnock, without giving credit to Lewis, whose involvement would not be generally known for forty years. Both the quarter eagle, designed by Sinnock, and the half dollar were struck in the maximum number authorized, but many were returned to the Mint for melting when they failed to sell. The Liberty Bell reverse for the half dollar was later reused by Sinnock, again without giving Lewis credit, on the Chief Engraver's Franklin half dollar, which was first minted in 1948.
United States Sesquicentennial coinage | Introduction
Due to the new government’s precarious financial situation, Congress did not put Morris’s plan into effect; however, Morris's decimal innovation was not lost on two of the Founding Fathers who examined Morris’s pattern coins: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, the primary architects of the U.S. Dollar. Both men became champions of the decimal concept after examining Morris’s coins.
Nova Constellatio | History
At the death of Stickel in 1896 the collection comprised about 12,000 specimens. At the end of the 19th century the keen interest of Orientalist for Islamic coins as textual sources lost its momentum, because of the abundance of other now edited texts. In 1906 Stickel's successor, the Orientalist Karl Vollers gave the figure of about 14,000 specimens. He died in 1909. The last professor for Oriental studies Arthur Ungnad left the University in 1919. In 1939, about 4,000 coins were given back to the now abdicated Grand-Ducal family. Several hundreds of coins were then lost in the aftermath of World War II.
Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena | History
It later came into the possession of Rogers Ruding, with two plates engraved by North to accompany a dissertation (not completed) on the coins of Henry III. North also compiled "A Table of English Silver Coins from the Conquest to the Commonwealth, with Remarks": a transcript by Andrew Gifford was in 1780 in the collection of Mark Cephas Tutet. His notes on Joseph Ames's "Typographical Antiquities" were made use of by William Herbert. North drew up sale catalogues for the coin collections of the Earl of Oxford (1742) and of Richard Mead (1755); he also catalogued, in 1744, James West's series of Saxon coins and Ducarel's English coins.
George North (numismatist) | Works
Copper-nickel coins succeeded only in 1914, when holed coins were produced. Patey was also responsible for the following French colonial and foreign coins: And possibly coins for the Comoros, Syria and Lebanon struck at the Paris mint.
Henri-Auguste Patey | Works
Most coin collectors became aware of the 1804 dollar in 1842, when Jacob R. Eckfeldt (son of Adam Eckfeldt) and William E. Du Bois published a book entitled "A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, Struck Within the Past Century". In the volume, several coins from the Mint's coin cabinet, including an 1804 dollar, were reproduced by tracing a pantograph stylus over an electrotype of the coins. In May 1843, numismatist Matthew A. Stickney was able to obtain an 1804 dollar from the Mint's coin cabinet by trading a rare pre-federal United States gold coin. Due to an increase in the demand for rare coins, Mint officials, including Director Snowden, began minting an increasing number of coin restrikes in the 1850s.
Draped Bust dollar | Collecting
Three days before the signing of the 1890 act, Barber wrote to the superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint, Oliver Bosbyshell, setting forth proposed terms of a competition to select new coin designs. Barber suggested that entrants be required to submit models, as opposed to drawings, and that the designs be in low relief, which was used for coins. He proposed that the entries include the lettering and denomination, as submissions without them would not adequately show the appearance of the finished coin. He received a reply that due to other work, the Mint would not be able to address the question until the spring of 1891.
Barber coinage | Inception
In 1878 he became the chief clerk (assistant director) of the United States Mint in Philadelphia. He retained that position until his death in 1883.
John Lawrence LeConte | U.S. mint
An event which attracted the wealthy trader population was the establishment of a Mint in 1676 for the coinage of "rupees, pies and bujurks". Tavernier who reported in 1678 that the currency was circulated within the fort precincts and some two or three leagues in the country.
Gerald Aungier | Establishment of the Mint
After a competition among artists who submitted designs: Nicholas Guy Antoine Brenet (1773-1846), André Galle (1761-1844), Romain-Vincent Jeuffroy (1749-1826), the design by the Swiss, Jean-Pierre Droz (1746-1823) was selected. The coins were the work of Joseph Pierre Tiolier (1763-1819), who was appointed Chief Engraver of the Paris Mint on 1 April 1803. There were no reducing machines at the time and the entirety of the engraver's work was completed by directly cutting into the die face with punches and gravers. In Year XI the government invested in a different method of minting pioneered by Jean-Pierre-Joseph Darcet (1777-1844). And in 1807, new minting equipment was introduced under the supervision of Philippe Joachim Gengembre (1764-1838), Inspector General of the Mints.
Napoléon (coin) | Notes on varieties of Napoleon coins
In 1839, he wrote "Die Münzen der griechischen, parthischen und indoskythischen Könige von Baktrien und den Ländern am Indus" ("The coins of the Greek, Parthian and Indo-Scythian kings of Bactria and the countries on the Indus").
Carl Ludwig Grotefend | Introduction
In 1904, US President Theodore Roosevelt complained about the artistic quality of American coinage to his Secretary of the Treasury, Leslie Mortier Shaw, and asked if it were possible to hire a private sculptor such as the President's friend Augustus Saint-Gaudens to give modern, artistic designs to US coins. At Roosevelt's instigation, Shaw had the Mint (part of the Department of the Treasury) hire Saint-Gaudens to redesign five denominations of US coinage that could be changed without an Act of Congress: the cent and the four gold pieces (the quarter eagle, half eagle, eagle and double eagle). By the Mint Act of 1792, an "eagle" was made equivalent to ten dollars.
Indian Head gold pieces | Inception
He designed the Britannia reverse of the English bronze coins of 1895, and the issue of English coins made in 1902 after the accession of Edward VII. His signature on the coins is "De S."
George William de Saulles | Works
From this period he produced many medals for schools, societies, Pitt clubs, and other institutions. On 20 November 1811, Wyon was appointed probationary engraver to the Royal Mint, and was employed in making the bank tokens for England and Ireland, and coins for the British colonies and for Hanover. He also engraved his medal commemorative of the peace and his Manchester Pitt medal. On 13 Oct. 1815 he was appointed chief engraver to the mint, being then only twenty-three. The next year he brought out the new silver coinage for the United Kingdom (half-crown, shilling, and sixpence), designing the reverses himself.
Thomas Wyon | Life
Droz-Farny was also an amateur numismatic collector who published some articles on historical remarks of some coins and, after his death, he donated his collection to the cantonal authorities.
Arnold Droz-Farny | Life and work
Faced with a rise in silver prices, Congress decreased the silver content of the half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar in 1853. Longacre was asked to alter Gobrecht's designs so new coins could be distinguished from old. He proposed placing rays around the heraldic eagle on the reverses of the quarter and half dollar, and arrows by the date for all of the affected denominations. As the act requiring the reduction in weight allowed the Mint to hire outside artists to do the work, Snowden allowed for public designs for the new pieces. No public entry was found suitable, and Longacre's proposal was adopted.
James B. Longacre | Prolific designer (1853–1863)
The rays tended to shorten die life and were dropped within a year; the arrows were dispensed with after 1855. In 1853, Congress authorized a three-dollar piece. In a note found among his papers, Longacre wrote that his task was to make the coin as easy as possible to distinguish from the quarter eagle, which at $2.50 was close in value. Longacre produced a design for a Native American princess, which he made different from Gobrecht's Liberty design on the quarter eagle with a thinner and wider planchet. At the time, a female Native American was often used to represent America in art, and a depiction of Liberty as an Indian princess was in accord with contemporary practices.
James B. Longacre | Prolific designer (1853–1863)
In 1840, Johann Gustav Stickel, Professor for Oriental languages at Jena University, succeeded in convincing the Grandduke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach to acquire a collection of 1,500 Oriental coins, and allowing him to study them. The collection was formed by Heinrich August Zwick, missionary of the German Protestant Herrnhut-Brotherhood, in Russia. He lived at the missionary outpost and small town Sarepta at the banks of the Volga river from 1816 to 1832. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of the Volga archaeology. Stickel won Maria Pavlovna, the Grand duchess, as the main benefactor of the collection, which in turn grew rapidly.
Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena | History
Longacre. Additionally to engraving for the Mint, he also produced embossing plaque for bookbinding.
Christian Gobrecht | Chief engraver of the U.S. Mint
He also contributed £4,000 () to the St George's Chapel Restoration Fund.
Frederick Minter | Career
Joseph Cloud had held the position of Melter and Refiner of the Philadelphia Mint since 1797. The Washington administration appointee resigned, effective at the start of 1836. Peale was nominated as Cloud's replacement by President Andrew Jackson on December 21, 1835, and was confirmed by the Senate on January 5, 1836. On taking office as Melter and Refiner, Peale implemented the changes he had recommended based on what he had seen in Europe. He also wanted additional mechanization in the mint's Coining Department, headed by Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt, whose son Jacob was the Philadelphia Mint's Assayer. Adam Eckfeldt had helped strike some of the first federal coins in 1792 and had been in his office since 1814.
Franklin Peale | Melter and Refiner
The five original officers of the U.S. Mint were a Director, an Assayer, a Chief Coiner, an Engraver, and a Treasurer (not the same as the United States Secretary of the Treasury). The Act allowed that one person could perform the functions of Chief Coiner and Engraver. The Assayer, Chief Coiner and Treasurer were required to post a $10,000 bond with the Secretary of the Treasury. The Act pegged the newly created United States dollar to the value of the widely used Spanish silver dollar, saying it was to have "the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current".
Coinage Act of 1792 | Introduction
The design of the original 1850 coins was due to Alexander Hutter for the copper coins (realised by Jean-Jaques Barre of Paris), to Karl Friedrich Voigt of Munich (1800–1874) for the billon coins, and to Friedrich Fisch of Aarau for the silver coins (the "seated Helvetia" motif). Voigt's design for the reverse side, consisting of the coin value in wreaths of grapes, oak leaves and gentian, remains in use in the current coins, while his design of the federal coat of arms on the obverse was replaced in the 1870s. The designs of the coins in current use, other than the 5 francs coin, are due Albert Walch (1816–1882).
Coins of the Swiss franc | History
The "Classic Head" variety was designed by William Kneass, which featured a traditional maiden with a ribbon binding her long, curly hair. This variety omitted E pluribus unum from the reverse of the coin. In 1840, a coronet and smaller head were designed to conform with the appearance of the larger gold coins, therefore making the Classic Head design obsolete. The Classic Head design was produced from 1834 to 1839.
Quarter eagle | <a href="Classic%20Head%20quarter%20eagle">Classic Head</a>
According to a proclamation dated 26 July 1797, King George III was "graciously pleased to give directions that measures might be taken for an immediate supply of such copper coinage as might be best adapted to the payment of the laborious poor in the present exigency". The proclamation required that the coins weigh one and two ounces respectively, bringing the intrinsic value of the coins close to their face value. With the return of large quantities of government issued small denomination coin (twopence and pennies were minted at the Soho Mint in 1797, and halfpennies and farthings followed in 1799), the need for locally issued token coinage waned.
Conder token | Matthew Boulton and The Soho Mint
His letter was forwarded to the Philadelphia Mint, where Superintendent John Landis had Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber read and initial it. On June 7, Barber responded to Landis:
Indian Head eagle | Inception
Gault’s “New Metallic Currency” was only a momentary success. His currency circulated for close to a year until the middle of 1863 when fractional currency issued by the government became popular enough to ease the coin shortage. There were a few factors that allowed Gault’s invention to thrive for only a short time. One of the main reasons was stamps needed for postage became unavailable. Too many postage stamps were being diverted from their main purpose and used as currency to the point that the solution for a shortage of coins created a shortage of stamps for mail purposes. Secondly, the coins were expensive.
John Gault | Circulation
These include the 1844 half dollar struck at the New Orleans Mint (1844-O) with a doubled date, and the 1846 half dollar with the 6 overlying an identical digit, but one which had been placed horizontally. Bowers indicates that Longacre likely delegated such work, although in 1849 he wrote that his daily work was punching dates into working dies. Tom DeLorey, in his 2003 article on Longacre, notes that Peale and his staff often made punches without consulting the Engraver's Department (headed by Longacre), and believes the chief coiner more likely to be responsible. Despite the charged atmosphere at the Philadelphia Mint, Longacre avoided conflict with Patterson and Peale until March 1849, when Congress authorized a gold dollar and double eagle or twenty-dollar gold piece, both new coins.
James B. Longacre | Patterson/Peale years (1844–1853)
Gosset then served as Colonial Treasurer of British Columbia, arriving in November 1858. He clashed seriously with James Douglas, from 1860. He also uncovered book-keeping issues, and recommended the dismissal of Alexander Caulfield Anderson. In the aftermath of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, coin was short in British Columbia. In 1861 Douglas sent Gosset, or the assayer Francis George Claudet, to San Francisco, for equipment to set up a local mint in New Westminster; in 1862 Gosset operated the mint. Gosset was replaced as Treasurer in 1862. In 1873 he returned to Britain to take a more sedate role in a Science and Art Department in London.
William Driscoll Gosset | British Columbia
Beginning in 1829, the Mint was able to eliminate the silver, but the drain on sovereigns from before this continued. George III died in January 1820, succeeded by George, Prince Regent, as George IV. Mint officials decided to continue to use the late king's head on coinage for the remainder of the year. For King George IV's coinage, Pistrucci modified the George and Dragon reverse, eliminating the surrounding Garter ribbon and motto, with a reeded border substituted. Pistrucci also modified the figure of the saint, placing a sword in his hand in place of the broken lance seen previously, eliminating the streamer from his helmet, and refining the look of the cloak.
Sovereign (British coin) | Early years (1817–1837)
After that several smaller treasurers produced their own coins with less value, too. This was very obvious in the case of the Groschen and half-Groschen coins. These often were silvered on the outside only, e.g.- the coins of the Anhaltian principalities.
Ephraimiten | Imitations