Eagles on US Coinage

edsondl

<< <i>Section 10. ... Upon one side of each of the said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty, and the year of the coinage; and upon the reverse of each of the gold and silver coins there shall be the figure or representation of an eagle, with this inscription, "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" ... >>

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Has this law ever been repealed?
I know that it is the reason for the small eagle on the reverse of the Franklin Half and that today the Bullion issues continue to follow obey it, but what about other coins such as:

Silver 3 cent
Barber, Mercury and Roosevelt Silver dimes
Silver Commems
State quarters in silver proof

Does the move to base metal coinage eliminate the need to have an eagle on the reverse of the proposed dollar coins (Presidential series with Statue of Liberty), and future half and quarter dollar series?

Should the US move away from this traditional reverse on our circulating coinage?

Thoughts posed for discussion.

-Dan

nwcs

I do not believe it has been repealed, but it has been (and can be) modified by further acts of Congress as they legislate projects for the mint. Congress can amend and emend existing laws to their pleasure. Of course, that is subject to some judicial scrutiny (such as it is).

edsondl

I can't believe that no one esle has an opinion on this.

kamehameha00

I thought this law was only for half dollars?

Conder101

The law was modified by the Act of January 18th 1837.

Sec 13. And be it further enacted, That upon the coins struck at the Mint there shall be the following devices and legends: upon one side of each of said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of Liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty, and the year of the coinage; and upon the reverse of each of the gold and silver coins, there shall be the figure or representation of an eagle, with the inscription United States of America, and a designation of the value of the coin; but on the reverse of the dime and half dime, cent and half cent, the figure of the eagle shall be omitted. Emphsis is mine.

The law was further modified by the Act of February 12th 1873.

Sec. 18. That upon the coins struck at the Mint there shall be the following devices and legends: Upon one side there shall be an impression emblematic of Liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty, and the year of the coinage; and upon the reverse shall be the representation of an eagle, with the inscriptions "United States of America" and "E Pluibus Unum" and a designation of the value of the coin; but on the gold dollar and three dollar piece, the dime, five, three, and one cent the figure of the eagle shall be omitted; and on the reverse of the silver trade dollar the weight and fineness of the coin shall be inscribed; and the Director of the Mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, may cause the motto"In God We Trust" to be inscribed upon such coins as shall admit of such motto; and any one of the forgoing inscriptions may be on the rim of the gold and silver coins.

Note that in this version it states that the eagle shall be onthe reverse of the COINS but does not specify gold and silver. That would make the eagle manditory on the clad coins as well except for the coins specificly specified.

The final change was the Coinage Act of 1965.

Sec. 3517. Upon one side of all coins of the United States there shall be an impression emblematic of Liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty, and upon the reverse side shall be the representation of an eagle, with the inscriptions "United States of America" and "E Pluibus Unum" and a designation of the value of the coin; but on the dime, five, and one cent piece, the figure of the eagle shall be omitted. . . .

This is basicly the same as the Act of 1873 except for the removal of the denominations that are no longer in production. Interestingly it no longer specifies which side the date has to appear on.

There have been a few other tweaks to the law as well. (probably mostly in 1982) The law as it is currently is found in the United States Code Title 31

Sec 5112 (a) (10) (d) (1) United States coins have the inscription IN GOD WE TRUST. The obvers side of each coin has the inscription LIBERTY. The reverse side of each coin has the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM and the designation of the value of the coin. The design of the reverse side of the dollar, half dollar and quarter dollar is an eagle.


So the eagle is still a required feature (unless specified differently by an act of Congress such as for commemoratives or the state quarters) The law still does not specify which side the date is to appear on, and under the law as written the heads side of the state quarters should be considered to be the reverse since it carries the inscriptions that the law mandates to appear on the reverse.

Want any more opinions?

JrGMan2004

Bravo Conder! That was a terrific lesson. I especially liked the act of 1837. I recently got involved in Capped Bust Half-Dimes, and they end in 1837, and the Seated Libs start up the same year. This exact explains the design change! Thank you!!!

edsondl

Thank you Conder for that excellent factual information.

That just leaves the question of personal preference regarding keeping the tradition of eagles on our coins.