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Message:: [QUOTE="stainless, post: 791417, member: 11757"]I can't remember if I posted this yet or not, but I thought I would share it. This was a term paper I wrote for my history class last semester. This was the rough draft, forgot to save the final copy after printing. I hope you guys enjoy the read      Anthony GondorHis 249A Brief History of our Earliest Coinage Although congress approved a government mint on February 21, 1782, official coinage for the United States of America did not develop until sixteen years after the Declaration of Independence<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn1" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn1"></a>. America still relied on British, Spanish, and other foreign coinage<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn2" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn2">[ii]</a>. Many citizens found this very unacceptable; therefore, congress decided that a mint should be established on March 3, 1791. No steps were taken directly after this date, but President George Washington made it very clear during his third annual address on October 25, 1791, that he did not want to delay in the process of establishing a mint any longer. On April 2, 1792, a bill - The Mint Act/The Coinage Act - was passed to specify the denominations, which provided coins to have values of $10, $5, and $2.5, which were to be struck in gold, $1, 50¢, 25¢, 10¢, and 5¢ struck in silver, and the 1¢ and 1/2¢ which were struck in copper; copper coins were to have one similar design, silver coins were to have another design, and gold were to have another design; none of the designs for each of these metals were supposed to be the same<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn3" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn3">[iii]</a>. This idea was forged from the French and British policies of this period in time and was enforced as a policy at the United States mint under David Rittenhouse, the first Director of the Mint<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn4" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn4">[iv]</a>. On July 21, 1792, the first US mint was built in Philadelphia<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn5" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn5">[v]</a>. Gold and silver had the same designer while copper had a different designer<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn6" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn6">[vi]</a>, but both individuals got their ideas from somewhere; just like the United States, who got their monetary system off of an inspiring foreign power, Spain, and based the basic unit off of the Spanish Milled Dollar. By going through the earliest designs of the half cent, the cent, the half dime, the dime, the quarter dollar, the half dollar, and the dollar, and even the gold pieces one by one, it will be displayed how these coins were invented and the inspiration given for the designs were given by world powers at not only that particular period, but also the leading countries of the ancient world. The half cent, which is the lowest coin of face value minted by the United States, was minted in 1793 with a mintage of 35,334. It measured 22 mm in diameter, which is larger than a five cent nickel. It was also made out of solid copper<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn7" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn7">[vii]</a>. The obverse (the front side of the coin) design is a prototype of the LIBERTAS AMERICANA medal designed by Augustin Dupre, an engraver in French coins and medals, in 1782<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn8" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn8">[viii]</a>. It has not been proven who the original designer is, but it is believed to be Adam Eckfeldt<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn9" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn9">[ix]</a>. This is the only design to have the Liberty Cap design facing to the left. It is also the only half cent with the flowing hair design and the smallest and thickest of half cents for circulation<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn10" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn10">[x]</a>. The 1793 cent, unlike the small cents we have now, was the first of the large cents being 26-27 mm in diameter. This, like the half cent, was made out of solid copper This was the very first coin minted by the United States federal government<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn11" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn11">[xi]</a>. There were just 36,103 minted with four different obverse dies and two different reverse (the back of the coin) dies. It was designed by Henry Voigt. This coin today is often called the “chain cent” because the reverse has a full circle chain around the word ONE CENT<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn12" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn12">[xii]</a>. While the chain was supposed to express togetherness as a nation, many critics viewed it as a representation of slavery<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn13" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn13">[xiii]</a>. It was not a popular design, because many viewed it as a dull and boring design and did not care for the style of Liberty on the obverse. After much criticism in newspapers, the mint abandoned the design<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn14" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn14">[xiv]</a>. Large cents continued to mint until 1857 when the United States transitioned to smaller cents, and no cent was legal tender until 1965<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn15" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn15">[xv]</a>.  The half dime was not made until 1794 which had a mintage of 84,416 and had a value of five cents. It was 16.5 mm in diameter and .8924 silver and .1076 copper<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn16" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn16">[xvi]</a>. These were called disme until 1837. The 1792 disme design was abandoned (the design used for the half-cent) and a new design took over, called the Flowing Hair Type, which was minted for just two years<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn17" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn17">[xvii]</a>. Robert Scot was the designer for this coin and all of the United States first silver coins. Unfortunately, little is known of the designs origin, but it is possible that the obverse was inspired by other Liberty types of United States coinage that were struck before these<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn18" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn18">[xviii]</a>. The dime was first minted in 1796 and has always had its value of ten cents. In the first year, just 22,135 of these were minted. They, and all other silver coins had the same composition of metal as the half dime, but the dime was 19 mm in diameter<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn19" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn19">[xix]</a>. The design on the obverse and of the reverse are probably one of the most astounding of all coinage of the United States of America. The obverse was yet, a Liberty, but was based off of a drawing of Ann Willing Bingham - wife of a delegate of Pennsylvania, William Bingham - designed by Gilbert Stuart, an American painter from Saunderstown, Rhode Island<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn20" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn20">[xx]</a>. The fifteen stars on the obverse surrounding the portrait of Liberty represents the number of states in the union at that time<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn21" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn21">[xxi]</a>. The reverses Heraldic Eagle design was inspired by a Roman onyx cameo carved in the first century B. C.<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn22" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn22">[xxii]</a> The quarter dollar has the same design as the dime, both the obverse and the reverse<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn23" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn23">[xxiii]</a>. It was in diameter 27.5 mm<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn24" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn24">[xxiv]</a>. The most interesting thing is the fact that this coin got its value from the term “two bits”. The Spanish Milled Dollar was one of the coins the Colonies used to use as money. The Milled Dollar used to be cut into eighths, each one having the equivalent silver value of twelve and a half cents called a "bit". When two were spent together it amounted to a quarter of a Spanish Milled Dollar or “two bits”<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn25" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn25">[xxv]</a>. Having the same design as the half dime and also minted in 1794, the half dollar 32.5 mm in diameter and the First United States Dollar is 39-40 mm. The half dollar had a mintage of 24,464, and the dollar with a mere 1,758<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn26" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn26">[xxvi]</a>. The dollar was supposed to be at par with the Spanish Milled Dollar but due to limited quantities, the Milled Dollar was used more often than the US Flowing Hair dollar<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn27" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn27">[xxvii]</a>. Also designed by Robert Scott are the $2.5, $5, and $10 gold pieces, the $2.5 being struck in 1796 and the $5 and $10 being struck in 1795<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn28" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn28">[xxviii]</a>. The $2.5 was called the Quarter Eagle, the $5 called the Half Eagle, and the $10 called the Eagle, and were specifically given these names in the Coinage Act of 1792<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn29" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn29">[xxix]</a>. They had a composition of .9167 gold and .0833 silver. The $2.5 was 20mm, $5 was 25mm, and the $10 was 33mm. The $2.5 had a heraldic eagle for its first reverse – similar to the dime - and the $5 and $10 had a small eagle – similar to the half dime, quarter dollar, half dollar, and dollar<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn30" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn30">[xxx]</a>. All three designs have the obverse capped Liberty bust to the right, and they are now referred to as the “turban head” design<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn31" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn31">[xxxi]</a>. The design was inspired by portrait styles of classical Greek goddesses, yet at a more modest bust approach<a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn32" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_edn32">[xxxii]</a>. Inspiration came from not only foreign countries at that time, but also from ancient times too. Realizing that even the British, the Spanish, and the French got some of their ideas from Greece and Rome, it is easy to see how the evolution of coinage design can begin, especially if one looks at them side by side. The United States of America not only got their designs from other cultures and countries, but also their base monetary system, the dollar, off of the Spanish Milled Dollar. Though it took sixteen years for America to have its official coinage, and it may seem like a long time, it did not take long to bring a new, yet old kind of artistic taste to the world. Uniquely enough, America was able to bring diverse cultures together in not only its money, but also in unity as a new nation. <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref1" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref1"></a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref2" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref2">[ii]</a> (Marc Hudgeons) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref3" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref3">[iii]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref4" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref4">[iv]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref5" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref5">[v]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref6" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref6">[vi]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref7" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref7">[vii]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref8" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref8">[viii]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref9" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref9">[ix]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref10" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref10">[x]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref11" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref11">[xi]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref12" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref12">[xii]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref13" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref13">[xiii]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref14" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref14">[xiv]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref15" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref15">[xv]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref16" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref16">[xvi]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref17" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref17">[xvii]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref18" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref18">[xviii]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref19" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref19">[xix]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref20" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref20">[xx]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref21" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref21">[xxi]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref22" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref22">[xxii]</a> (WikiCoins) *Coin Resources <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref23" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref23">[xxiii]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref24" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref24">[xxiv]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref25" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref25">[xxv]</a> (Breen) (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref26" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref26">[xxvi]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) (Marc Hudgeons) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref27" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref27">[xxvii]</a> (Breen) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref28" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref28">[xxviii]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref29" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref29">[xxix]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) (Breen) (WikiCoins) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref30" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref30">[xxx]</a> (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref31" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref31">[xxxi]</a> (Breen) (Marc Hudgeons) (R.S. Yeoman) <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref32" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=7#_ednref32">[xxxii]</a> (WikiCoins) Breen, Walter. Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins. 1988.Marc Hudgeons, Tom Hudgeons Jr., Tom Hudgeons Sr. The Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States coins. House of Collectables, 2009.R.S. Yeoman, edited by Kenneth Bresset. The Official Redbook: A Guide Book of United States Coins. 2009.WikiCoins. <a href="http://www.wikicoins.com/Turban_Head_Eagle" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.wikicoins.com/Turban_Head_Eagle" rel="nofollow">http://www.wikicoins.com/Turban_Head_Eagle</a>. August 2009.[/QUOTE]

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