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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 4289637, member: 101855"]It's time for another article from the archives. I hope that you enjoy it. This one needs lots of pictures, so it will take me a two or three messages to post all of it.       Today the nickel five cent piece is just behind the cent when it comes to modern coins that are on “life support.” Like the cent, the nickel has little purchasing power, and it now costs the mint more than five cents to make a five cent piece. The day might not be far in the future when the nickel will either have be modified from its present form (the new half dime?) or dropped as a circulating coin.       Like the cent the five cent piece has been a part of our monetary system since its inception. In April 1792, Congress passed the first coinage act which some collectors refer to as “Act One.” The Coinage Act of 1792 established ten denominations of coins from the half cent through the eagle or ten dollar gold piece and defined their weights and compositions. The Coinage Act also authorized the purchase of a plot of land in the U.S. Capital, which was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at that time, and the construction of the buildings and the purchase of equipment that would establish first U.S. mint. [ATTACH=full]1091894[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1091895[/ATTACH] The 1792 Half Disme       In July 1792, a few days before that government purchased the land for the first mint, secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, reported receiving 1,500 half dismes that were made in accordance the standards established by the Coinage Act. These coins, which were struck under Jefferson’s supervision, were made at the machine shop of John Harper, who was a Philadelphia artisan. On November 6, 1792 President George Washington in his annual report to Congress stated: “There has been a small beginning in the coinage of half dismes, the want of small coins in circulation calling for first attention to them.” “The want of small coins in circulation,” referred to the fact that the American economy had been flooded with a glut of light weight copper coins that were fast losing their value and credibility. Washington hoped that this small number of silver coins would start to shore up the nation’s monetary system.       These 1792 half dismes, which have a strong claim as the first U.S. coins, featured a liberty head on the obverse surrounded by the slogan, “LIB. (liberty) PAR. (parent) OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY,” and the date, 1792. The reverse featured a scrawny looking flying eagle, the denomination, “HALF DISME,” and the legend, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” Today about 300 of these coins survive. They are wildly popular among advanced collectors and bring strong prices in all grades.       There have been many legends and misconceptions surrounding the 1792 Half Disme. Martha Washington almost certainly did not give up her silverware for the production of these coins, but George Washington probably contributed silver in the form of  coins (probably Spanish milled dollars) for the project. It is unlikely that Martha Washington was the model for the Lady that appears on the obverse of these coins. Yet, that Ms. Liberty does bear a resemblance to the portrait of Martha that Gilbert Stuart painted at the same time he was working on the picture than inspired the portrait of George that appears on the one dollar bill. Both portraits are sometimes on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Martha Washington portrait by Gilbert Stuart [ATTACH=full]1091897[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1091898[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1091899[/ATTACH]  [ATTACH=full]1091900[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1091901[/ATTACH] The Flowing Hair Half Dime, 1794-5       Once the first mint opened and began to strike coins, there was a two year delay before more half dimes were struck. The reason was that the Chief Coiner and the Chief Assayer were required to post bonds that equaled more than eight years of their salary before they could handle gold and silver. Congress, with the help of Thomas Jefferson, modified this unrealistic requirement, and Jefferson helped the men to obtain loans to post their bonds. In October 1794, the mint delivered its first silver coins, a batch of silver dollars. In November the mint introduced the half dollar, and in March 1795 the facility started to issue half dimes.       The first delivery of half dimes included pieces that were dated 1794 and 1795. Die state (die wear) evidence indicates that some of the 1795 dated half dimes were minted before the 1794 dated pieces. Because of the delivery date and the die state evidence numismatists are certain that none of the 1794 half dimes were actually minted in 1794.         These early pieces featured a portrait of Ms. Liberty with flowing hair encircled by 15 stars, the word “LIBERTY” at the top and the date at the bottom. The reverse featured another scrawny eagle, perched on a rock with its wings spread. The eagle is surrounded by two curved laurel branches and the legend “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” There was no indication of value on the coin, which was in keeping with the practices of the period. The Flowing Hair half dimes are scarce, but they are easiest of the four types of early half dime to obtain. With an estimated mintage of 78,600 pieces, the 1795 half dime is the most common date in the series from 1792 to 1805. Next Post!  [/QUOTE]

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