I couldn't pass it up...

I know I said I was retiring on the seated liberty quarter, but I like 2c pieces as well.

It's worn, but it has nice original surfaces, out the door for about $5 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1864-Two-Ce...Gf3eFX9yiMw7XE2NEdTfL+8=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

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Well?

 

I suppose you can't go wrong for $5.

 

The very rare 1864 "No Motto" two cent piece.

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!

 

Getting back to the coin (if that's OK with you guys)... I really like low grade examples of early coinage, and this 2c piece is a good example. In fact, the hole in my 7070 is filled with a very similar piece. Nice pickup for five bucks, Detecto.

 

Ya I thought I did ok. A lot of worn coins are not that good looking as far as surfaces. I don't mind old worn coins as long as the surfaces are original.

 

Back on topic and enough of the personal swipes.

Respectfully.

 

I'll second that!

 

That's a deep hole in the ground full of water!

 

I don't understand how a 2c piece could show so much wear, unless it was a lucky pocket-piece. Did they continue to circulate after 1873, the final year of minting? Did 3c pieces continue to circulate after 1873 and 1889, the final year of their mintings?

Or were banks instructed to gather them up, as received, and return them to the Mint? Never thought about this before.

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I should have added, "if" 2c coins were removed from circulation, presumably it circulated not much more than 9 years, hardly long enough to become a slick.

 

There are many low grade, well worn examples on eBay. Apparently this coin was heavily circulated (or there were a lot of pocket pieces). Detecto's coin looks good compared to some of these:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Two-Cents-/149924/i.html?_sop=15&rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

 

Keep a close eye on those cheap 2c pieces, especially in junk bins at shows, etc. In my experience they are quite often undergraded and overlooked, and nice examples can be picked up for less than $10. For the life of me I don't understand why nobody collects this short but neat series.

Nice pick

 

Who doesn't like the odd denominations. I don't have any images of the proof set, but here are some of my business strikes.

 

I think this design holds up quite well in low grades. Plus, a large-ish copper coin is hard to pass up.

 

I think it's a nice pickup...like others have said, you can't go wrong for $5. I personally shoot for higher grades and lately have been buying far fewer items so I can afford one nice piece instead of 10 worn pieces. But, some people really like well circulated examples (I'll admit...sometimes they do look nice). This coin isn't for me, but there is nothing wrong with it and if you are happy than I say "well done."

 

Yep - love the well worn problem free pieces.

 

Which is not good if you were looking for oil.

Of course they continued to circulate. Coins once issued tend to remain in circulation until they are permanently pulled out by the public in hoards, or they are redeemed by the banks as being too worn or damaged for continued use. Buffalos continued to circulate after 1938, Mercurys after 1945, wheats after 1959, and the eagle reverse quarter dollars are still circulating 14 years after they were discontinued. There are still reports of 2 cent pieces coming back to the mint for redemption in the annual mint reports after the turn of the 20th century.

 

I think of the half dollar, the various dollar coins, the two-dollar bill, and I guess I just assume that people are biased toward a small set of denominations. I suppose it was not always thus.

 

At the time, was the 2 cent coin well received? My understanding was...it was not. It was an attempt to fill in the post civil war need for copper coinage and the populous didn't care for the coin. Am I mistaken?

 

I think the proof that it was not well-received is -- it only lasted 8 or 9 years. Of course, those years were the first years of the bronze IHC, which with a gross mintage (1864-1873) of about 140 million, no doubt solved the cent shortage once and for all.

I do not know if there was any significant opposition to the motto "In God We Trust," i.e., the idea that Church and State should remain separated.

Also, when the 2c first appeared, kids no doubt complained, "Oh, great, now penny candy will go up to two cents..."