One Hundred and fourty four years ago today, April 22nd, The US Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 which mandated that the inscription “In God We Trust” be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.

The motto was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment resulting from horror, carnage and resulting dispair of the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the Deity on United States coins.

From Treasury Department records, it appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, and read:

Dear Sir: You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances.

One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.

You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW.

This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.

To you first I address a subject that must be agitated.

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By Doug Andrews, World Coin News
Celebration of the centennial of the Royal Canadian Mint in the summer of 2008 may cause numismatists to reflect on the years of diplomatic wrangling and political infighting that surrounded its establishment. Now one of the most successful and modern mints in the world, its founding in 1908 was the culmination of nearly two decades of argument among Canadian parliamentarians, and negotiations between officials in Canada and the United Kingdom.

As early as 1890 members of the Canadian Senate from British Columbia began lobbying the Conservative and later, the Liberal, governments in Ottawa for opening a mint in Vancouver. Gold recently had been discovered in the nearby Fraser River Valley, and a tiny group of politicians led by Senator Thomas McInnes tried to persuade the cabinet to fund construction of a mint to assay and refine gold, produce ingots and strike gold into coins. In March, McInnes boldly introduced the following motion to the Senate, “Resolved as to the opinion of this House that it is both desirable and expedient that the government should immediately pass a coinage act and establish a mint.”

Gold miners and speculators in British Columbia saw the opening of a mint as an opportunity to increase their profits by reducing the costs of exporting gold to the United States for refining. However, the Conservative Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, opposed the measure championed by McInnes, a Liberal, and it went down to defeat. Macdonald, then in declining health, had focused this agenda on protectionism rather than foreign trade, and a mint to increase profits from exportation of gold did not fit into his plans.

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WASHINGTON - Spring has returned and so has the United States Mint’s Spring Gift Catalog. Available by mail and online on April 18, the 2008 Spring Gift Catalog features the Presidential $1 Coins, the American Eagle Coins and the Bald Eagle Commemorative Coins.

“Spring is the time of rebirth and renewal,” said United States Mint Director Ed Moy. “And like spring, the products offered in this catalog herald the rebirth of great coin design and a renewed sense of the American spirit.”

The 2008 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Proof SetTM, priced at $14.95, contains coins bearing the likenesses of James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. These Presidential $1 Coins -honoring the Presidents of the United States who served from 1817 to 1841-are the second series of coins released in the Presidential $1 Coin Program.

Additional Presidential $1 Coin products include the Official United States Mint Coin Album - Presidential $1 CoinsTM, priced at $11.95, and the James Madison Presidential $1 Coin Cover-part of the United States Mint Official American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series-priced at $14.95.

The 2008-dated American Eagle Gold Coin-in both the proof and the uncirculated versions-is available in one-tenth ounce, one-quarter ounce, one-half ounce and one ounce denominations. A Certificate of Authenticity, documenting the coin’s specifications, is included.
Struck on specially burnished blanks, the American Eagle Uncirculated Coins feature a finish similar to their bullion counterparts, but they carry the “W” mint mark indicating their production at the United States Mint at West Point.

For the most current pricing information for the proof and uncirculated American Eagle Gold Coins, please call 1-800-USA MINT (872-6468) or visit the United States Mint Online Catalog at www.usmint.gov. (more…)

Dallas, TX. The 1804 Silver Dollar highlighting the amazing collection of silver dollars assembled by David Queller and his family reached $3,737,500 at the Official Auction of the Central States Numismatic Society convention held by Heritage Auction Galleries. Combining the rare coin and currency results, total prices realized currently exceed $42.6 million. After adding proceeds from all Post Auction Buys and Final Session auctions, total prices are expected to exceed $44 million. More than 6,700 bidders participated in the Signature and Platinum Night events, and another 3,000-plus are anticipated to participate in the Final Sessions. The auctions were held in Rosemont, Illinois on April 16-18; Images, descriptions, and prices realized for all lots can be viewed at the Heritage website, HA.com.

“Heritage was very pleased with the auction wide results at Central States,” commented Heritage President Greg Rohan, “and especially so for the results of the wonderful Queller Family Collection. As anticipated, the market reacted well to the combination of rarity and quality that marked all of the coins assembled by a discerning eye. And also as anticipated, the most valuable three coins sold in Rosemont were all Queller coins. The prices further support claims that this was the greatest silver dollar collection ever assembled.”

“Heritage was also pleased at the total prices realized including currency. Over the past three years, Heritage achieved enviable results at our Central States auctions: 2005 - $24,265,967; 2006 - $24,145,105; and 2007 - $24,912,768. Frankly, we were beginning to wonder when we were going to exceed that $25 million level! Well, we have decisively smashed that barrier in 2008, and any concerns about the overall economy were decisively rejected by astute collectors willing to pursue quality.” (more…)