What word appears on every US coin?

What word appears on every US coin?

“Liberty”: The word “Liberty” has been required by law to appear on coins since the Coinage Act of 1792.

Why is the word liberty on coins?

The Coinage Act of 1792, which created the U.S. Mint, declared that one side of American coins had to show an “impression emblematic of Liberty,” a mythical female figure who had appeared as a symbol of America in colonial cartoons and prints, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

What was the motto on the first US coin?

Benjamin Franklin reportedly designed the first American penny in 1787. Known as the Fugio cent, it bears the image of a sun and sundial above the message “Mind Your Business.” A chain with 13 links, each representing one of the original colonies, encircles the motto “We Are One” on the reverse.

What did the first US coin say?

Mind Your Business
The coin was designed by Benjamin Franklin and had the inscription “Mind Your Business.” The phrase “Mind Your Business” and the images on the coin form a rebus (A puzzle in which words are represented by combinations of pictures, words and individual letters) which loosely reads as ‘time flies, do your work.

What was the first motto on US coins?

Liberty
“Liberty” is the oldest motto. It appears on the first coins that the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia made in 1793.

What are the mint marks on coins?

Mint marks are letters that identify where a coin was made. They hold the maker responsible for the quality of a coin. When the U.S. used precious metals such as gold and silver to make circulating coins, a commission evaluated the metal compositions and quality of coins from each of the Mint facilities.

What are the four active sites that mint U.S. coins?

There are four active coin-producing mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.

• Philadelphia.
• Denver.
• San Francisco.
• West Point.
• Fort Knox.

What is a motto on a coin?

A motto is a short sentence or phrase that encapsulates key beliefs or ideals guiding an individual, family, or institution, in this case the United States of America. On a modern U.S. coin you will see three mottoes: “Liberty,” “In God We Trust,” and “E Pluribus Unum” (Figure 1).

Where are the 4 U.S. mints located city and state?

Today, the Mint’s headquarters (a non-coin-producing facility) are in Washington D.C.. It operates mint facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point, New York and a bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

What was the first phrase on US coins?

Here are some of the common words and phrases that are seen on coins. Liberty would be one of the first words to appear on US coins. The Coinage Act of 1792 would initially define the coins of the new nation. Included in the act was how silver and gold coins would be designed.

When did the phrase ” our God and our country ” appear on coins?

The phrase wouldn’t appear on coins until The Civil War. Reverend M. R. Watkinson of Pennsylvania wrote a letter in 1861 to the Treasury Secretary suggesting that God be added to coins during wartime. In 1863, different patterns were made for the new Two Cent piece. One had George Washington on the obverse with words “Our God and Our Country”.

What did the US coins look like in 1792?

The Coinage Act of 1792 would initially define the coins of the new nation. Included in the act was how silver and gold coins would be designed. The obverse would have a design representing Liberty as well as the word Liberty. On the reverse would be an eagle and the words “United States of America”.

When did in God we trust appear on US coins?

Finally, the wording was changed to “In God We Trust” and would appear on the first Two Cent Pieces in 1864. The motto would appear on some coins including the Shield Nickel, Seated Liberty Half Dollar and Morgan Dollar. By 1938, all coins would have the motto.