IF ONE was to pick an interesting year in American numismatics, the choice would perhaps readily fall on 1873. For those who seek challenge in their collecting, 1873 has great rarities and common coins alike. It was also a time of change in our monetary system as old coins were cast aside and replaced by the new. It all began in the dark days of the Civil War.
During 1861 there had been great optimism in the North that the Union armies would soon bring the South to its knees and the nation would be restored. This was not to be and in December 1861 a nervous public began to hoard gold coins; within days private banks suspended gold payments for their paper currency.
In June 1862 the turn of silver came and soon none was to be seen in circulation, except in California where special rules applied; in fact gold and silver stayed in daily use on the West Coast throughout the war. Once silver had gone, there was little money for the marketplace except for a motley assortment of government notes, some as low as three cents in value, and cent coins.
By 1863 the situation had become desperate as the public had begun to hoard even the lowly copper-nickel cent. The only “coins” that now circulated were the private cent tokens, coined by the millions in the North. Finally, in April 1864, Congress authorized the striking of bronze
