Discontinued US Currency Denominations

Most adult Americans today know that the $100 bill is now the highest paper currency denomination that is issued since bills of $500 (which were discontinued in 1969) and more are no longer made, though they are still legal tender. On the lower end of the currency denomination spectrum are $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills that are all still issued, though a surprisingly large number of Americans don’t realize that $2 bills are still printed.

And most Americans from the time they are children learn the basic US coinage denominations that still circulate: pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters although half dollars and $1 coins are still made but only for collectors. During the past two years half dollars have also been showing up more frequently in change that they usually do because the US Mint decided there was a need for them and began once again putting them into circulation, although how much demand actually exists for using the coins in commerce remains unclear.

As most coin collectors and numismatists know, there are many other US coinage denominations that were made in the past that are still considered legal tender, though you will undoubtedly get puzzled reactions from store clerks and bank tellers if you try to use them in a transaction since they are unlikely to know about such discontinued coins.

Those coins include half cents, two cent pieces, three cents made of nickel and those made of silver, half dimes, twenty cent coins plus gold coins that are no longer made from $1, $2.50, and $3 to $4, $5, $10 and $20 coins.

This article will look more closely at three of those obsolete coins that were known for having odd denominations: large half cents, two-cent coins, and twenty-cent silver pieces -- each of which was a failure as a circulating piece with the public but before long became a hit with collectors.

Half Cents

The lowest denomination coin ever struck was the 100% copper half cent, first authorized under the Coinage Act of 1792 and issued from 1793 to 1857. They were slightly smaller than a modern quarter (22 millimeters to 23 millimeters) and were all struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

Although Mint officials thought the coins would be popular, the public never warmed to them, preferring one cent coins that began the same year. After 1811 production of half cents was intermittent. These coins did, however, become very popular with collectors, especially since the 1850s.

To build a type set of half cents, one needs to acquire examples of six different design types, which include Liberty Head facing left that was only minted in 1793 and is extremely rare. Even a very low grade circulated coin will run about $5,000.

Second is Liberty Head facing right, only made in 1794 and also very scarce. A low-grade circulated specimen will cost around $1,000.

Third is small Liberty Head facing right, which is scarce but plentiful enough that an example will run around $500 in Good-4.

Fourth is Draped Bust, which like the next two – Classic Head and Braided Head – is much for affordable since more of these three designs of half cents are available in the market with even high-grade examples within reach of some collectors.

For many type collectors only the last three designs are really feasible acquisitions unless they are working with a very substantial budget.

Two Cents

Another coin that never caught on with the public and which was minted for a much shorter period is the bronze (95% copper with the balance zinc and tin) two-cent piece that was first struck to help solve the nationwide shortage of coins during the Civil War when coins, especially those made of silver and gold were widely hoarded.

Issued from 1864 to 1873, two-cent pieces were struck in mintages that continued to decline over time because a lor of them were made in the beginning and far fewer would be needed than expected since most people preferred to use Indian Head cents than this odd denomination. The entire mintage, including Proofs, was like the half cent coin, struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

These coins are primarily notable because they were the very first ones to feature the motto “In God We Trust” due to the rise of religious sentiment during the war from Americans looking for peace of mind. This led the U.S. Congress to pass a law in 1865 requiring the appearance of the motto on all coinage on which it would fit, which began to be implemented in 1866.

Type collectors tend to look for a nice, high-quality example of the most plentiful issue from 1864, which is still readily available even in high grades for a few hundred dollars. As with other copper coinage, pricing and availability have a lot to do with the color of the coin and whether it is brown, red-brown or red.

Twenty-cents

A third obsolete coin is the short-lived silver Liberty Seated twenty-cent piece, which was only issued from 1875 to 1878. This coin would prove to be one of the greatest coinage blunders in American history mainly because the coin’s design of a Liberty figure seated and holding a pole in one hand and grasping a shield emblazoned with Liberty on it in the other hand was identical to that of all the other silver coins with this design that circulated at the time. Plus, the size of the coin was too similar to that of a quarter, which confused the public and meant that merchants needed a separate bin in their cash registers for it.

In addition, while there was initially a shortage of silver coinage in some Western states like Nevada, which led Senator John P. Jones of that state to introduce the bill that created the twenty-cent piece, it was still the case that two silver dimes could accomplish the same purpose as this coin in those areas. Moreover, in the East there just was no need for the coin at all, which led to a bill calling for it to be abolished in 1876 that became law in 1878.

The coin would only be issued for circulation in 1875 and 1876, and only Proofs were struck in 1877 and 1878.

Once again, a coin unloved by the public is a favorite of numismatists, especially type collectors who can acquire a nice-circulated example of the most common date coin, the 1875-S, for under $300 and an MS63 for $1,300, while very high-grade examples will run over $10,000.

The series is also notable because it includes one of the great rarities of American coinage – the 1876-CC. Although 10,000 were originally minted, all but at most 20 coins were destroyed. They are today worth from $270,000 in MS60 to an impressive $1,000,000 in the top-grade of MS66.

The other Carson City coin of this type, the 1875-CC, is not as a rare but is still a scarce coin that runs about $1550 in AU-55, $2,50 in MS60, $4,350 in MS63 and then really jumps in value in the highest grades, reaching over $100,000 in the top grade of MS67.

Of the Philadelphia issue, 1876 is more expensive than the common-date 1875-S with market valuation that runs a little less than the 1875-CC, or $1,075 in AU-55, $1,500 in MS60 and $2,350 in MS63, topping out at $95,000 for an MS67+.

Someone looking to build an interesting subset of type coins could focus just on these and the other obsolete American coins.