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This is also the explanation as to why 12 1/2 cent tokens were issued by bars long after the denomination disappeared from common use in the mid 1800s. Until 1857 the 1 real silver coins of many South American countries circulated here legally as 12.5 cents or an eight of a dollar.

He is making fun of it, I love it.

A fun read.

The Senator who introduced the authorization bill was a silver mine owner. Imagine that!

Interesting - Am going shopx go for one for type.

@breakdown said:
If you are at FUN, there is a nice display of double dimes at the Liberty Seated Collectors Club booth.

I would say so! There are over 700 double dimes from the collection of the late Lane Brunner. Lane was the co-author of the reference book on Double Dimes along with John Frost.

@retirednow said:
A variation on the double dime

Excellent! The redundancy of stating the denomination in two different ways is interesting, although perhaps that would have prevented some of the confusion with the quarter.

So minor coins didn't circulate there at all? Were they totally unavailable or were they not accepted at bars and other retail stores?

There’s more detailed explanation in Brunner and Frost’s reference on Double Dimes, which is available in its entirety online. This is the link to the relevant section (bottom few paragraphs): http://doubledimes.com/History2.html

I spoke with John Frost at FUN. He is working on a new 2nd edition of the Double Dimes book, he hopes to have it ready by the January 2026 FUN show. The book had an original printing of 200 and a second printing of another 100, for a total of 300. It is out of print and very difficult to obtain.

If twenty cent pieces were so unpopular, why are most survivors in such low grades? Hundreds of them from all 3 mints in AG through Fine are for sale on eBay. To be that badly worn, they would have required decades of continuous circulation, a time frame much longer than could be explained by their use in western saloons.

I think they circulated but the problem was the similarity to the quarter.
I have 10 Sacagawea Dollars (raw) in my collection. I got every single one as a mistake in change. I even remember arguing with the girl at McDonalds that she was trying to give me 3 dollars for 3 quarters but she just told me if i didn't like my change to put it in the donation jar on the counter.
I also understand that the "change" drawers of the day had no extra slot to hold them. Bet they went into the quarter slot. Nothing makes a business man happier than to lose money.
Last of all I think the popularity of the quarter made the Twenty cent piece the ugly club foot sister at the dance. James

This is where an understanding of how both coin and paper was used during the 1870s is useful.

There wasn't nearly enough silver available and in circulation from the start of the Civil War in the early 1860s until the mid 1870s when Western silver started to flow, mainly from the Comstock Lode. Fractional currency was the most common way that merchants made change during this period, although it was not as welcome or widely used in the West. The large mintages of silver starting in the mid 1870s was used to retire the fractional currency in circulation. This included the 20 cent pieces which are still, today, sometimes mistaken for quarters, even by collectors. I believe that's why they failed, as suggested by James, but there may be other reasons, too.