Lady Liberty is a universal sign of freedom. Her name conjures visions of immigrants hungry for a new life and a torch raised high against the New York City skyline. Before she was known as the Statue of Liberty, though, Lady Liberty first graced the face of American coins. The Coinage Act of , which created the U. The first U. Henry Voigt, the chief coiner at the Mint, designed Lady Liberty with long, flowing hair. Critics complained that she appeared unattractive and disheveled, according to Chase Bank.
The version of this silver coin is hard to come by, with only to of them remaining. Her hair pulled back and styled with a bow, Lady Liberty went on to grace the front of the Draped Bust dollar. This depiction of Lady Liberty remained on silver dollars through Decades after her debut, Lady Liberty got to take a rest in with the introduction of the Liberty Seated dollar, also known as the Gobrecht dollar.
Christian Gobrecht, an engraver at the Mint, gained credit for designing this coin, which went into wide circulation in Please share your thoughts and suggestions with other collectors…. Hi Dolores, your best bet would be to find a reputable dealer locally who can inspect the coin up close to determine what you have.
So you should definitely find someone knowledgeable take a look. Happy New Year! The original guidelines The first coin requirements were stated in the Coinage Act of authorizing establishment of the U. The reverse side of all gold and silver coins would feature an image of an eagle and the inscription united states of america. The reverse side of copper cents and half cents would have an inscription expressing the denomination.
The inscription united states of america was included as well since there was plenty of room. The intriguing saga of in god we trust The motto in god we trust first appeared on the Two-Cent Piece amid the religious fervor of the Civil War era.
Share this:. Dolores Dominguez December Reply. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Faces on coins tell stories —as do words, especially in mottoes. A motto is a short sentence or phrase that encapsulates key beliefs or ideals guiding an individual, family, or institution, in this case the United States of America. On a modern U. Each of these messages encapsulates a core belief or ideal of our nation. Where did they come from? Which was first adopted for coins and when? And are these the original slogans of U.
This motto first appeared on the Great Seal of the United States, first made in and first appeared on U. It appears on the first coins that the U. Mint in Philadelphia made in But experimental coins were struck by the U.
Thereby hangs a tale …. Figure 1. The Walking Liberty silver U. The coin was designed by sculptor and engraver Adolf Weinman. The design features a woman draped in a U. She wears a liberty cap also known as a phrygian cap or bonnet rouge and carries branches of laurel and oak, symbols of civil and military glory.
Her right hand stretches out towards something in front of her that we cannot see. Is it the future? Is she greeting someone? Is she showing us something? The reverse of the half dollar shows an eagle perched on a mountain crag, his massive wings stretched in display, fearless in spirit and conscious of his power Compare this eagle with his undernourished relative in Figure 3. Springing from the rock is a pine sapling, symbolic of America. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions, Dallas.
The government of the new nation tested its wobbly legs as it warily watched events across the Atlantic. The Coinage Act of set the ratio of silver to gold at , which was different than the world market. Silver dollars were also exported for use in international trade or stored as bullion.
During the early 19th century, depositors such as banks supplied the silver and gold for coining and chose which coins they wanted back.
Their preference was for the largest denominations of each metal. The Mint rarely coined the smaller denomination silver coins — half dimes, dimes, and quarters — needed for daily transactions. In an effort to bring gold and silver coins into circulation, Congress passed various Acts to discontinue the silver dollar and gold eagle, and to change the weight of coins and ratio of gold to silver.
With the help of these laws, new coining technology , and the opening of branch Mints around the country, production increased. Finally, with the passage of the Coinage Act of , Congress banned foreign coins as legal tender. Later Acts were responsible for changing the inscriptions and elements that we recognize on our coins today.
The face of Lady Liberty appeared on our circulating coins for more than years. When considering options for our first coins, Congress debated over whether to feature George Washington and later presidents. Instead, Congress chose to personify the concept of liberty rather than a real person. The figure of Liberty, often with a cap and pole , had been a symbol used during the American Revolution.
See Symbols on Our Coins below. In , Abraham Lincoln replaced Liberty on the penny. Presidents then appeared on other denominations: the quarter in ; the nickel in ; the dime in ; the half dollar in ; and finally, the dollar in Liberty last appeared on a circulating coin in in the final year of the Walking Liberty half dollar.
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