The Dating Game -- a Reverse Twist

By Richard L. Hall

What do the following United States coins have in common: 1921-D Morgan dollar, 1964-D Kennedy Half, 1851-O Three cent silver, 1859 Indian Head cent, 1875-S Twenty-cent piece, 1913-P Type 1 Buffalo Nickel, 1859-S Liberty Seated dollar, 1860-O Half dime, 1793 Chain cent, 1912-S Liberty Nickel, the 1912-D Liberty Nickel, 1878-P 8 tail feather Morgan Dollar?

The recent 50 states quarter dollar series deviates from the traditional design of United States coinage since it is one of the few series of United States coins in which the date of the coin is on the reverse. In the non-commemorative series, only the one-dollar gold coin series minted from 1849 to 1889 and the three-dollar gold coin series minted from 1854 through 1889 had the date of the coin stamped on the reverse. Thus, a United States coin with the date on the reverse is a not too common occurrence. In fact, the 50 states series is the only circulating non-gold coins for which this is true.

However, there are many coins minted by the United States and intended for circulation that can actually be dated from the reverse of the coin even though the date is on the obverse. The coins mentioned above, as well as several others, have this interesting property. Each of these has something peculiar about a key element of the reverse design, e. g. the presence or placement of the mintmark or some other determining mark that makes the reverse of the coin unique for the type and date. These coins are not obscure minor varieties that would take an expert in an area to date. Rather they are readily identifiable by some major design element. In modern parlance, they would be called intended varieties. Many of these coins have an interesting history and the purpose of this article is to explore this "reverse-dated" series of coins.

1793 CHAIN CENT

The 1793 Chain cent is one of the most interesting of all American coins. It was the first coin minted by the United States Mint at its new facility in Philadelphia. Designed by Henry Voight, the obverse has a head of liberty with her hair askew with the legend LIBERTY at the top of the coin and the date at the base. The main device element on the reverse is a chain of 15 links joined together in the center of the coin and enclosing the denomination ONE CENT and 1/100. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (or an abbreviated AMERI. on some) is scrolled around the reverse rim. The chain was intended to represent the 15 states in the Union at the time. But almost as soon as the cent was minted, criticism surfaced. It was said that the chain was too symbolic of the shackles and chains of slavery that had been thrown off during the fight for independence. Because of this criticism, the reverse design was changed to a wreath in the same year. Thus, the chain cent represents one of the shortest series of all United States coins. It has a unique reverse that readily identifies the date of the coin . Both major varieties of reverses, one with AMERICA and the other with AMERI. would be part of the series.

1859 INDIAN HEAD CENT

James Longacre designed the 1859 Indian Head Cent to replace the Flying Eagle Cent. The obverse is actually a depiction of Lady Liberty wearing an Indian headdress, but popularly the coin is known as the Indian Head Cent. The reverse is very simple. A laurel wreath surrounds the denomination ONE CENT. The reverse design type lasted only one year before it was replaced by a new design with an oak wreath open at the top and a shield surrounding the denomination. The closed wreath design is a one year type coin and is easily dated from the reverse.

1909 V. D. B. and 1909-S V. D. B. LINCOLN CENT

President Theodore Roosevelt was intent on having a new coin to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. He was enamoured of a bronze medallic portrait of Lincoln by Victor D. Brenner and Brenner was commissioned to design the new cent. The original Lincoln cent coin released by the mint had the very familiar reverse with wheat stalks on either side of the denomination ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The motto, E PLURIBUS UNUM, was at the top. At the bottom of the reverse, Brenner had placed his initials V. D. B. After the release, mint officials decided that Brenner’s raised initials were much too prominent on the reverse, and new dies were prepared without the initials The initials were later restored (in 1918) in a less prominent position beneath the base of Lincoln’s bust on the obverse. . As a result, coins with the V. D. B. reverse can readily be dated to 1909. The V. D. B. cent was minted at both Philadelphia and San Francisco. However, the mint mark is on the obverse and for the purposes of this series the San Francisco and Philadelphia issues are indistinguishable.

1943-PDS LINCOLN CENT

World War II was in full bloom at the end of 1942. Copper was a precious commodity for the war effort and, in order to conserve the copper supply, the government decided to remove it temporarily from the nation’s coinage. The mint chose a new alloy for the cent consisting of zinc coated steel. The new alloy was quite different in color from the previous coppery colored cents. In fact, the cents were so silver in color, they were often mistaken for dimes. That, plus the fact that the new cents corroded very rapidly, caused the mint to return to a copper-based alloy in 1944. So the 1943 zinc-coated steel cent is a unique one year issue. Although a handful of coins with a 1944 date escaped the mint due to leftover planchets in the hoppers, chances are that if you have a zinc-coated steel coin, the date on the obverse is 1943. As with all Lincoln cents, the mint mark is on the obverse and for the purposes of this series the San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia issues are indistinguishable

1851-O THREE CENT SILVER

This tiny coin, the smallest United States silver coin, was authorized by Congress in 1851. The odd denomination (together with the Gold Three-Dollar Coin) was tied to the Postal rates at the time (3c for a first class letter). The reverse of the coin has a large stylized C enclosing the Roman numeral III. Thirteen stars form the outer border. The coin of interest in this series is the 1851-O. This was the first year of issue for this denomination and the coin was minted at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mint. The 1851-O is the only minor coin less than a half dime to be minted with a mint mark until 1908 when the Indian cents were minted at San Francisco. The mintmark appears on the reverse to the right of the large C.

1860-O LIBERTY SEATED HALF DIME

The half dime was an integral part of the United States coinage almost since the inception of the mint, being authorized by Congress in 1792. The Liberty Seated half dime type made its appearance in 1837. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the original reverse had a laurel wreath enclosing the denomination HALF DIME in the center and the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around most of the rim. In 1860, the legend was moved to the obverse. The 1860 coins were minted at Philadelphia and New Orleans. The New Orleans minted coin has the "O" mintmark on the reverse beneath the wreath. The next year, after striking only half dollars, the New Orleans mint was closed due to the onset of the Civil War. It would not reopen until 1879. Thus, the 1860-O half dime is the only New Orleans coin in the series minted without the legend on the reverse.

1883 NO CENTS LIBERTY NICKEL

The United States had converted to a nickel 5 cent piece from the silver half dime in 1866. The Liberty Head Nickel continued that tradition. Designed by Charles Barber, the first Liberty Head nickel was minted in 1883. The obverse had a bust portrait of a woman with "LIBERTY" on a tiara in her hair. The reverse had a simple wreath enclosing the roman numeral "V" for 5. At the top of the reverse and around most of the rim was the usual UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. At the bottom was the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Nowhere did the valuation "cents" appear. It was assumed that the V and the fact that the coin was nickel in color would be sufficient to determine the denomination. That was true in most cases. However, some enterprising con men immediately plated the coin with gold and passed it off as a five dollar gold piece. The legend of the "racketeer" nickel was born. The design was changed the same year to include the word CENTS at the base of the coins reverse and to move the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM under UNITED STATES OF AMERICA at the top. Two small dots were on either side of the word CENTS. The No Cents variety can readily be dated to 1883, the first year of issue. (Note: a few pattern coins dated 1882 were actually released into circulation although these are very rare.)

1912-D and 1912-S LIBERTY Nickel

Traditionally, the United States had refrained from issuing minor coinage at its branch mints. That was true through most of the mint’s history. However, in 1908, the mint began the manufacture of cents in San Francisco and included the mintmark on these coins. That was followed in 1912 with the minting of the Liberty Head nickel coins at both the Denver and San Francisco mints as well as at Philadelphia. The mintmark was included on these coins. The 1912 Liberty Head Nickel minted at San Francisco bore an S mintmark on the reverse and those minted at Denver had a D mintmark. The mintmark was placed beneath the dot to the left of the word CENTS on the reverse. These are the only two Liberty Head nickels to bear a mintmark since the design of the five cent coin was changed to the Indian Head/Buffalo design in the next year. Thus, Liberty Head nickels with either the D or S mintmark has a unique reverse and can be readily identified as having been minted in 1912.

1913-PDS BUFFALO NICKEL (MOUND TYPE)

The Indian Head/ Buffalo nickel is arguably one of the most beautiful coins ever minted by the Unites States. Designed by James Earle Fraser, the obverse bears the portrait of an American Indian and the reverse depicts an American bison. Also on the reverse are the legend UNITED STATES of AMERICA and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. In 1913, the denomination FIVE CENTS appeared on the reverse on a raised mound at the bottom of the coin. Because the denomination quickly wore off when the coin was in circulation, the raised mound was changed in the same year to a line popularly called a plain. The raised line protected the denomination. This made the 1913 mound type nickel a one year type. The 1913 mound type nickel was minted at all three mints, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver and the mint marks appear on the reverse of the nickel below the denomination. Because of the placement of the mintmark, each of these coins would be part of this series.

1875-S TWENTY CENT PIECE

The twenty cent piece is another of the odd denominations that appeared from time to time in the coinage of the United states. It was authorized by an act of Congress in 1874 and designed by William Barber. It’s purpose may have been twofold, to alleviate a coin shortage in the western states and to increase the usage of the silver output from the Nevada silver miners. The design is similar to the Liberty Seated coins minted at the time except that LIBERTY on the shield is raised rather than incuse. The reverse has the warlike heraldic eagle common at the time with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA scrolled around the inside border at the top and the denomination TWENTY CENTS at the base. The first twenty cent pieces in 1875 were minted at Philadelphia, Carson City and San Francisco. The Carson City coins bore the CC mintmark and the San Francisco coins the S mintmark. The San Francisco mint turned out more than a million coins--dwarfing the production of the other two mints. However, 1875 was the only year that the San Francisco mint produced twenty-cent pieces. The twenty cent piece was short lived and lasted only another 3 years with only proofs minted in the last two years of issue. The 1875-S coin is the only twenty-cent piece to bear the mintmark "S" on the reverse. That makes the reverse unique and qualifies it for the reverse dated coin series.

1796 SMALL EAGLE REVERSE QUARTER

The 1796 quarter dollar was the first quarter minted by the U. S. Mint. The Draped Bust obverse is typical of the coins of the day. The reverse warlike eagle surrounded by the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is also typical. The coin, designed by Robert Scot, followed a Gilbert Stuart engraving. All coins were minted in Philadelphia and this was the only year in which this design was issued. The next group of quarters in 1804 had the same Drape Bust obverse but with a heraldic eagle on the reverse. The small eagle reverse is a unique one-year type coin.

1853-P and 1853-O LIBERTY SEATED QUARTER—ARROWS and RAYS

The Liberty Seated quarter was designed by Christian Gobrecht and first minted in 1838. Its weight and fineness was determined by the authorizing legislation of January 1837. The obverse has the usual portrait of Liberty Seated. The reverse has a heraldic eagle with an olive branch and arrows in its claws and the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA scrolled around the sides and top. Also the denomination QUAR. DOL. appears at the base of the reverse. By the early 1850’s the gold strike in California had depressed the price of gold and made silver more valuable in relation to gold. Silver coins were worth more than face value and a good number were melted for their silver content. To alleviate a growing coin shortage, the mint in 1853 lowered the weight of the quarter dollar from 6.68 grams to 6.22 grams. To indicate the weight change, the remaining quarters minted in 1853 had arrows placed on either side of the date. The reverse of the coin was also modified by placing rays in the field around the eagle. The rays were removed the following year but the arrows remained until 1855. The arrows and Rays quarter dollars were minted at both Philadelphia and New Orleans. The mint mark appears on the reverse just above the denomination. The rays on the reverse of these coins make them a unique one-year type. Coins from both mints are included in this series.

1891-O LIBERTY SEATED QUARTER

The Liberty Seated Quarter had a long and storied history from 1838 until 1891. In addition to the weight change mentioned above, the weight was also changed in 1873 to 6.25 grams. Also, in 1866, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added on a ribbon on the reverse. The New Orleans mint had ceased production of coins by then. But in 1879, the New Orleans mint reopened and, in 1891 minted quarters again for the first time in more than 30 years. Since the Barber quarter would appear the next year, the 1891-O quarters were the only quarters minted at New Orleans which had the added motto on the reverse. Thus, the 1891-O quarter with the added motto and the "O" mint mark above the QUAR. DOL. is a unique reverse.

1776-1976 WASHINGTON/DRUMMERBOY BICENTENNIAL QUARTER

As the 200^th anniversary of American independence in 1976 approached, the United States decided to commemorate the bicentennial by changing the reverse design on three circulating coins, the dollar, half dollar and quarter dollar. The quarter design chosen from an open competition was of a colonial drummer boy plus a victory torch with 13 stars. The coin was designed by Jack Ahr. These coins were minted in 1975 and 1976 but all bore the dual date 1776-1976 and the usual portrait of Washington on the obverse. The circulating coins were minted at Philadelphia and Denver and the proof coins at San Francisco. This was a unique one year design reverse since the regular design was resumed in 1977.

1853-P and 1853-O LIBERTY SEATED HALF DOLLAR—ARROWS and RAYS

Like the Liberty Seated quarter mentioned above, the Liberty Seated half-dollar was also designed by Christian Gobrecht. It was first minted in 1839. Its weight and fineness also was determined by the authorizing legislation of January 1837. The obverse has the usual portrait of Liberty Seated. The reverse has a heraldic eagle with olive branch and arrows in its claws and the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA scrolled around the sides and top. The denomination HALF. DOL. appears at the base of the reverse. Like the quarter, the half-dollar was heavily melted for its silver content. To alleviate a growing coin shortage, the mint in 1853 lowered the weight of the half dollar from 13.36 grams to 12.44 grams. To indicate the weight change, the remaining half dollars minted in 1853 had arrows placed on either side of the date. The reverse of the coin was also modified by placing rays in the field around the eagle. The rays were removed the following year but the arrows remained until 1855. The Arrows and Rays variety half-dollars were minted at both Philadelphia and New Orleans. The mint mark appears on the reverse just below the eagle. The rays on the reverse of these coins make them a unique one-year type. Because the mintmark in on the reverse, coins from both mints are included in this series.

1964 –D KENNEDY HALF DOLLAR

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 was a sad event that plunged the nation into mourning. A stunned congress passed a bill authorizing a tribute to the slain leader. The tribute came in the form of a half dollar coin bearing the late President’s image. Designed by Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro, the reverse depicted the American eagle as it appeared on the Great Seal of the United States. The coins were first minted in 1964 at both the Denver and Philadelphia mints. The coins mined at Denver bore the D mint mark on the reverse. A coin shortage the following year led the mint to stop using mint marks the following year. When mintmarks were resumed in 1968, the mint mark was moved to the obverse. Thus the 1964-D Kennedy half is the only Kennedy half with a mint mark on the reverse and that makes the reverse a unique one-year type.

1776-1976-PDS KENNEDY/INDEPENDENCE HALL BICENTENNIAL HALF DOLLAR

The bicentennial of American independence in 1976 was commemorated by changing the reverse design on three circulating coins, the dollar, half dollar and quarter dollar. The half dollar reverse design chosen from an open competition was a frontal view of Independence Hall in Philadelphia designed by Seth Huntington. The obverse had the usual portrait of President Kennedy. These coins were minted in 1975 and 1976 but all bore the dual date 1776-1976. The circulating coins were minted at Philadelphia and Denver and the proof coins at San Francisco. This was a unique one year design reverse This was a unique one year design reverse since the regular design was resumed in 1977.

1859-S LIBERTY SEATED DOLLAR

The Liberty Seated dollar was designed by Christian Gobrecht and first minted in 1840. Like the quarter and half-dollar, its weight and fineness were determined by the legislation of January 1837. The obverse has the usual portrait of Liberty Seated with 13 stars around the upper rim. The reverse has a heraldic eagle with olive branch and arrows in its claws and the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA scrolled around the sides and top. Also the denomination ONE DOL. appears at the base of the reverse. The coins were struck at Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco. The mint mark occurs above the denomination on the reverse. In 1866, the reverse was modified to include the motto IN GOD WE TRUST in a ribbon above the eagle, thereby creating a new variety. The 1859-S coin was the only dollar of the first type to be minted at San Francisco and the "S" mintmark on the reverse without the motto uniquely identified this coin as being minted in 1859.

1878-P MORGAN DOLLAR – 8 TAIL FEATHERS

The Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878 authorized the production of a silver dollar coin after a brief hiatus from 1873. Its weight and fineness were determined by the legislation of January 1837. The new dollar coin was designed by George T Morgan. It had a beautiful portrait of Liberty on the obverse and a bald eagle with wings spread on the reverse. The original reverse design, first minted in 1878, showed the American bald eagle with 8 tail feathers. It was pointed out that the eagle was not anatomically correct since a bald eagle has only 7 tail feathers. The eagle was modified later in 1878 to a 7 tail feather variety. But the 8 tail feather variety represents a unique one-year type and can be identified as to date by the number of tail feathers. The 8 tail feather variety was minted only in Philadelphia and thus bore no mintmark.

1921-D MORGAN DOLLAR

Legislation in 1898 required that all bullion purchased through the Sherman Act of 1878 be used for the minting of silver dollars. When the supply of silver bullion was exhausted in 1904, the coinage of the Morgan silver dollar ceased. Legislation in the form of the Pittman Act of 1917 authorized the melting of the existing supply of silver dollars (not over 350,000,000) and the later minting of additional silver dollars. Silver dollar production resumed in 1921. A new silver dollar design called the Peace dollar was authorized but before the design was ready, 86,730,000 silver dollars were coined and bore the Morgan dollar design that was last used in 1904. These new Morgan dollars were minted at the mint’s facilities at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. The Denver mint was new to the Morgan dollar production having begun coin production in 1906, two years after the Morgan dollar mintage was stopped. Thus the new Morgan Dollars with a D mintmark has a unique reverse that distinguishes it from all the other Morgan dollars previously minted.

1776-1976-PDS EISENHOWER/MOON-LIBERTY BELL BICENTENNIAL DOLLAR

The bicentennial of American independence in 1976 was commemorated by changing the reverse design on three circulating coins, the dollar, half dollar and quarter dollar. The dollar reverse design chosen from an open competition was a Liberty Bell superimposed on a view of the moon. The reverse was designed by Dennis R. Williams. The obverse had the usual portrait of President Eisenhower by Frank Gasparro. These coins were minted in 1975 and 1976 but all bore the dual date 1776-1976. The circulating coins were minted at Philadelphia and Denver and the proof coins at San Francisco. This was a unique one year design reverse since the regular design was resumed in 1977.

Surprisingly, none of the major gold coins issued by the United States over the course of its minting history would fall into the category of reverse dated. The mint did produce some $2 ½ gold coins in 1848 that bore the CAL. inscription at the top of the reverse to indicate they were made from California gold. This could be included in the series. Perhaps the closest variety in the gold series would be the open wreath one-dollar coins minted in 1848. But since these coins already had the dates on the reverse, the open wreath variety wouldn’t be a unique identifier.

Each of the coins included in the reverse dated series would be called an intended variety. They are what they are because the mint made a conscious decision about a particular part of the reverse design or the place of mintage. There are also other coins called unintended varieties that could be included in the series also. These are coins identifiable from some feature on the reverse that resulted from accident rather than an intentional design. These would include such coins as the 1939 doubled MONTICELLO nickel, the 1937-D 3-legged Buffalo nickel, the 1900-O/CC Morgan dollar, the 1878 7/8 tail feather Morgan dollar or the 1954-D/S nickel to name a few. There are also a number of varieties that could be included but would take an expert to identify such as the 1921-S Morgan Dollar which has an S mintmark different from mintmarks previously used (in fact, the reverse shows minor variations from previous versions), the 3 leaf variety 1795 half dollar, or the 1892 Barber Quarter with the eagles wing covering less than half the E in UNITED. However, these are somewhat obscure and would take an expert to identify and date. We have excluded these coins purposely to concentrate on coins that are easily identifiable as to date from the reverse. An additional analysis could include these varieties as well.