You probably know what the reverse on the United StatesTrade Dollar looks like. Here's a look to jog your memory (courtesy of coinfacts.com): http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/trade_dollars/trade_dollars.html Now I want you to look at the reverse of the 20 cent piece (also, courtesy coinfacts.com) http://www.coinfacts.com/twenty_cents/twenty_cents.html Yes, it's the same design, except this reverse is missing 1) the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM 2) the silver fineness statement Now some of you may assume Bust Quarters have the same design, so I'll let you see for yourself. Draped Bust Quarters 1796 variety http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_dollars/draped_bust_quarters/draped_bust_quarter_dollars.html 1804-1807 variety http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_do...ter_dollars/1804_quarter_dollar_varieties.htm And what about the Capped Bust Quarters? Capped Bust Quarters Scroll on Reverse (1815 - 1828) http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_do...ter_dollars/1815_quarter_dollar_varieties.htm No Scroll on Reverse (1831 - 1838) http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_do...ter_dollars/1831_quarter_dollar_varieties.htm http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_do...ter_dollars/1815_quarter_dollar_varieties.htm And lest you think Half Dollars or Dollars were struck with the same reverse design as the 20 cent and Trade Dollar, look at them: Flowing Hair Halves of 1794 and 1795 http://www.coinfacts.com/half_dollars/flowing_hair_half_dollars/flowing_hair_half_dollars.html Draped Bust (small eagle of 1796 to 1807 (both Varieties http://www.coinfacts.com/half_dollars/draped_bust_half_dollars/draped_bust_half_dollars.html Capped Bust Halves 1807 - 1839 (3 Varieties) http://www.coinfacts.com/half_dollars/capped_bust_half_dollars/capped_bust_half_dollars.html Flowing Hair Silver Dollars of 1794 and 1795 http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/flowing_hair_dollars/flowing_hair_silver_dollars.html Draped Bust Silver Dollars of 1795 to 1804 (Both Varieties) (scroll down to see both varieties) http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/draped_bust_dollars/draped_bust_silver_dollars.html Hope you enjoyed this trivia... Clinker
What about the Barber and later Seated Liberty dimes? I believe they have the same reveres, too. Or do they not count because they're the same denomination? Oh well, great trivia!
Clinker: Your ruining my ability to copy your posts. You used to detail the entire story but lately you are entering numerous Links to other places. Those may be useless in the near future so my copying your post would have little meaning in a few years. Still nice of you to keep us all informed.
Ardatirion You hit the nail on the head "two different denominations", although there are two different Commemorative U.S. coins with the same reverse. Clinker
Yep, the 20 cent coin certaintly had the same obverse as quarters of them time, but the eagle was slightly different (not different enough though to stop complaints of it being too similar to a quarter, which caused it to have the shortest run of any coin series, and of any denomination, in US history, as far as federally minted coins go.) For one, the eagle wasn't even facing the same way. And it was smaller, slightly, and had a plain edge as opposed to a reeded one... Still the 20 cent piece was regarded as useless, and not counting proofs, was only minted for 2 years, with most of the second year's production having been melted down before ever leaving the mints. Anything but the 1875-S is extremely rare. Few of the Carson City mintages ever saw the outside of the mint before getting melted down.
Here's what's interesting about this thread - it shows how times have changed. We look back and see different denominations with the same design, and we're amazed - because these days different denominations have different designs. But it hasn't always been that way. In fact, varying designs are the exception, not the rule ! For the majority of America's history, a single design was featured on multiple denominations. It was that way from the beginning. 1793 - 1795 Flowing Hair was everything. While there was some variance amongst the copper, all silver of 1794 and 1795 sported identical design - from the lowly half dime all the way up to the silver dollar. All the gold showed identical Turban Capped Bust designs. Then the Draped Bust took the stage in 1796 - and again, all the coins from half cent all the way up to the dollar marched in step, while the gold coins mimicked each other. And so it went, through the Capped Bust era, the Seated Liberty era, and the Coronet Gold era. All coins of the same metal tended to have the same design. Yes, there were some exceptions - Silver Morgan dollars are unlike silver Barbers - but there were three identical Barber denominations ! Only in the twentieth century did we consistently have a single design dedicated to a single denomination.
