early US coins...no denomination

XpipedreamR

The early US coins greater than the half dime carried no denomination on the coin. Why was this done? Why was it included on the lower value coins? Were there any "issues" with this practice? Why was the denomination eventually added? Thanks

RWB

Half cent, cent, half dollar, dollar had the denomination on the edge.

Leiana

I don't think the Federally issued flowing hair and draped bust half dimes had the denomination on them either, let me go check.

-Amanda

EDIT- Yep. Late 1700s early 1800s half dimes did not have a denomination. Large Cents and Half Cents did, though. I like DaveG's thought of subsidiary coins below. That makes a lot of sense. Also, perhaps it has something to do with the legal tender status of large cents and half cents.

XpipedreamR

<< <i>Half cent, cent, half dollar, dollar had the denomination on the edge. >>





OK, then let's just talk gold

XpipedreamR

<< <i>Half cent, cent, half dollar, dollar had the denomination on the edge. >>





AND...why was that done, and why was it changed?

DaveG

The lack of a denomination may have been a hold-over from England. I don't think that English coins had denominations until the early 19th century (and the sovereigns never had a denomination).

I think that in the 18th century and earlier, the weight of precious metal was more important than the denomination (especially when you were dealing with coins from foreign countries). For example, the worn Mexican silver coins that were common in the US prior to 1858 were usually accepted at a discount to reflect how worn they were.

I suspect that denominations were added to silver and gold coins when coinage standards changed from coins being of full value (the coin contained the same amount of metal as the denomination) to coins being subsidiary (less than full value - that is, the coin only contained metal worth, say, 90% of the denomination).

RichieURich

My understanding is that there were a bunch of foreign coins in circulation at the time as well as U. S. coins. Not everyone could read (especially all of the languages!) and the coins traded based on their size and composition. For example, a silver coin such as a 2 reals was about the size of a U. S. quarter, so they traded at the same value. I don't remember where I read this, does anyone remember where this story came from?