The American Obsolete Coinage Collection contains a wealth of history from the 1800s. The collection begins its historic tale with the Half Cent, minted from 1809 to 1836. The Classic Head Half Cent is composed of 100% copper and was designed by John Reich. All Classic Head Half Cents were minted in Philadelphia and thus do not have a mint mark. Lady Liberty is profiled on the obverse of the coin wearing a headband with the word Liberty. The reverse shows a wreath circling the words Half Cent. The storied set continues with the Two Cent Piece. "In God We Trust first appeared on United States coinage in 1864 with the minting of the Two Cent Piece. The Two Cent Piece was designed by James B. Longacre and was first minted in 1864 at the Philadelphia Mint. The Obverse displays a shield and a banner reading "In God We Trust." The reverse shows a wreath encircled by the words United States of America and the denomination 2 cents in the center of the coin. The coin is composed of .950 copper. The Two Cent Piece is sometimes called, "the most Gothic and the most expressive of the Civil War" coins. The Three Cent Nickel, the third coin in the collection, was first minted during the Civil War Era in 1865 due to its counterpart thesilver three cent piece being hoarded by the public. The Three Cent Nickel was designed by James B. Longacre and was minted in Philadelphia. The three cent piece was composed of copper and nickel and minted from 1865 to 1889. The obverse shows a profile of Lady Liberty. The reverse displays a wreath with the Roman numeral III. The three cent nickel was never intended as a permanent issue and was the last three cent piece minted in the United States. The fourth and fifth coins in the collection are composed of .900 silver and are both of the Liberty Seated design. The last of the silver half dimes produced, the Silver Seated Liberty Half Dime was minted from 1837-1873. The Seated Liberty has different subtypes and was minted at Philadelphia, San Francisco and New Orleans mints. The obverse shows Liberty seated on a rock and was designed by Thomas Sully. The reverse featuring a wreath was designed by Christian Gobrecht. The short lived silver twenty cent piece was minted from 1875 to 1878. The public was confused over the coin's similarity to the quarter dollar, thus causing its demise. This rare five piece coin collection is housed in individual acrylic capsules and handsomely matted in a lined wooden box. A Certificate of Authenticity is included.
