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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 4270007, member: 101855&quot;]Here is little addendum to the previous article.</p><p><br /></p><p>The North added some pieces of small change to the mix toward end and just after the Civil War. The first one was the Two Cent Piece. It was issued to relieve coin shortage. The mintages were high at first and then declined until Congress did away with it in 1873. Still it’s interesting to note that even the later dates saw a lot of circulation. When I was working are circulated set of Two Cent Pieces many years ago (Which I sold not long after I finished it.), I was surprised at the number of well worn pieces I found from the late 1860s and early ‘70s.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a nice example of the 1864 Small Motto variety. These coins were made from a leftover pattern die that the mint put to use. Believe it or not, I have cherry picked some of these from dealers who didn&#039;t both to check the coin out in &quot;The Red Book.&quot; This variety is scarcer than the Large Motto, but it&#039;s not rare by any means.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1087220[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br /></p><p>The Third Issue of Fractional Currency included three and five cent notes. These tiny pieces of paper became unsightly while they were in circulation, and some government officials were embarrassed by them. That led Congress to look for substitutes that would stay in circulation given the fact that people were hoarding any coin that contained silver.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a three cent Fractional Currency note with a light background behind Washington’s portrait. There is also a dark background variety that is scarcer.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1087224[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1087225[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Here is the Third Issue five cent note. The fellow pictured on the front of this note is Spencer Clark. He was very much alive when these notes were issued. He was an innovative bureaucrat who developed a way to print paper money via the wet process.</p><p><br /></p><p>He almost got fired for putting his picture on this note. Of course, he probably didn’t think there was anything wrong with doing that since his bosses were also putting themselves on the paper money as well. A fellow named Spinner, who was the treasurer of the United States, put himself on the 50 cent note, and Salman Chase, the secretary of the Treasury, had his portrait on the larger notes as well. It’s worth noting that Chase had presidential aspirations and actually dreamed that he might wrestle the Republican nomination from Lincoln in 1864.</p><p><br /></p><p>The moral is a boss can get away with more stuff than an underling can.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oh well I’ve gone about presidential politics in 1864. Here is the five cent note with Spenser Clark on it.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1087232[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1087233[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The replacement for the three cent note was the Nickel Three Cent Piece which the mint introduced in 1865. Yes, the mint was also making a Silver Three Cent Piece at the same time, but that coin would not circulate because of its metal content.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1087237[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1087238[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In 1866 the mint introduced the nickel five cent piece to redeem and replace the five cent note. The mint was still making half dimes, but, of course, they contained silver and were not circulating. People found the nickel to be more convenient to use, and it eventually replaced the half dime completely in 1873.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1087241[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1087242[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Thus ends our little tour of small change during the Civil War.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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