Law requiring eagle on reverse of certain coins?
CoinHoarder
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When did the US Mint decide that they would no longer require an eagle on the reverse of MOST coin denominations over a dime?
I ask this because of all the different quarter designs over the last 23 years that have, for the most part, not had the required eaqle on the reverse.
Coinage Act of 1873 (in part):
It required that the obverse of each American coin be emblematic of Liberty, and that an eagle must appear on the reverse, except for the small-diameter cent, three-cent nickel, five-cent nickel, dime, gold dollar, and three-dollar piece, on which an eagle could not appear. It required the use of the country's name on the reverse, and of "E Pluribus Unum"
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The US Mint can't make that decision. It's required by an act of Congress. I think the Eagle was no longer required beginning with the State Quarters and then the Presidential Dollars.
I think it's a shame that they no longer have an eagle on the back of our coinage. All the different quarters out there remind me of cheap arcade tokens. No uniformity in the coinage anymore.
I would like the Eagle to return to coins. The SHQ program did bring in a lot of young collectors, and I am sure some will continue. However, it mostly was commercialism and some profit seeking for the Mint. Since then it has gone downhill. Bring back true art to our coins... Please!! Cheers, RickO
I feel the opposite. A law mandating an eagle on coins boxes you in. The eagle has been done before. And done and done and done and...
The original law did not change. The specific authorizing programs for recent series provided exceptions or overriding language for those issues.
As a side note, consider the Franklin half dollar. They wanted the Liberty Bell on the reverse but did not have a specific exemption so the small eagle was included.
If they require an eagle on the coin, it had better be a good looking one, not some Ill- eagle thing! 😉
The first time the law was changed was in 1837. An eagle appeared on all U.S. gold and silver coins from their beginnings in the 1790s through the introduction of the 1837 dimes and half dimes.
Dimes
I really wish they had kept the common reverse and put the statehood stuff on the obverse. But then, I wish we had versions of Liberty on the obverses of our coins rather than political hacks.