The daily sentinel., 1908-02-07
AMERICAN
COIN LEGENDS
I'm GOD We TRUST"
Has oab Be-. Used Half a C.s,uy-'f
nEi1ss Usun" Has Been Used 100
Years-Sene Interesting Facts.

The use of the motto I'm God We
Trust" ON American coins II less than
half a century old. but the legend
II Pluribus Unum" has done duty
| upon nearly every United States coin
issued since the establishment of the
mint in 1892, and even goes back to
the days when individual states
struck their own coins.
H The origin of the legend is rather
II uncertain. There is evidence that
nor was 1t brought into being. as
many have supposed, by the condi-
III tions which existed in this country
In the latter half of the eighteenth
II century. 1t seems to have been de-
| rived from a foreign source.
III The motto "E Pluribus Unum" Is
found on the title page of an English
publication, the Gentleman's Maga-
zine, about 1890. 1t was first used
in America on the copper cent dated
1886. Issued by the state of New
Il Jersey and known as the Nova Cae-
sarea cent.
In 1876 a law was passed by the
legislature of New Jersey for coming
copper cents. which were to be made
"in the state, of such device and i'm
preston as should be directed by the
II justices of the supreme court, or any
II one of them" Whether the Justices
had anything to do with the selection
of the motto Is not quite certain.
They seem to have taken very little
interest in the matter and left the
design to the first New Jersey mint
master, Walter Mould. a coiner at
Birmingham, Eng, who had emigrat-
ed to America and set up his plant
at Morristown.
The motto was borne by all the
many varieties of cents struck by
Mould and the other coiners In the
state during the three years Of COIN
age-17s6. 1887 and 1888.
II In 1877 Ephraim Brasher adopted
the legend for the famous New York
doubloon, struck in gold. which has
since become the highest priced coin
In the world, $4,000 having been
paid for a specimen last summer at
the Stickney sale. On this coin,
however. there was slight variation
in the reading of the legend, 1t being
"Unum e Pluribus."
Several varieties of the New York
copper cents dated 1887 bore the
motto "E Pluribus Unum." 1t ap-
peared on the Immune Columbia"
series dated 1897. the Kentucky
cent dated 1891 and one variety of
the Washington cent of the same
date.
The early engravers were fond of
placing notices upon coins. usually
In Latin. On the Maryland coins.
known as the coinage of Lord Balti-
more-shillings sixpences, greats
and pennies-the legend generally
used was "Crescite ct Fultiplicamini"
/ Increase and Multiply
The New Hampshire cent OF 1776,
said to be the first coin issued by one
of the United States. bore the In
scription american Liberty" with
the pine tree as one Of Its cheif de-
vices.
The New York cents struck at
Newburgh nearly all bore the motto
| ''Inde ct Lib" Independence and
shown by the many varieties of cents
struck in the state Of Connecticut.
One variety of the New York cents
bore the inscription Writ ct LIB"
| Virtue and Liberty
| number OF the state put out I'm
mune Columbia" or free Columbia.
cents. The reverse side of this piece
seems to have been used In conjunc-
tion with one of the regular diverse
dies used by Vermont, New York and
New Jersey. The design represented
the Goddess of Liberty seated. up
holding with one hand the scales of
Justice, with the other grasping a
flag which falls from a liberty staff,
surmounted by liberty cap.
The inscription on the Massa-
chusetta copper coinage was simply
the word Commonwealth" A rare
Massachusetts coin bears the inscrip-
ton "God Preserve New England"
An extremely rare variety of the
Massachusetts, copper. dated 177s.
contained the legend Liberty and
Virtue" and Is supposed to be the
first pattern for the Massachusetts,
cent.
The Carolinas were credited with
n coin of the same character as one
of the Massachusetts, issue. It having
side, but the inscription reads "God
Preserve Carolina and the Lords
Proprietor" This coin was issued
in 1894.
\ The copper coin known the the
Louisiana cent, struck In France as
early as 1871 for use in the Ameri-
can colonies. bore the inscription
"Benedictum Sit Nomen Domini," or
blessed be the Name Of the Lord).
This was a favorite inscription with
the French engravers and many of
the regular French coins of the per-
iod contained it.
The. first continental dollar. one
of the rarest of American coins. q
silver specimen of which sold for
$500 some time ago, was dated 1776
and inscribed American Congress-.
We Are One" This coin. together
: with the Fugio cent OF later issue,
, bore the motto Mind Your Own
Business"
One OF the scarcsst of the early
|, coins. showing an Indian seated upon
a globe and holding a bunch of to-
, ,, bacco In his right hand. and dated
ITS, has the inscription mon De-
pendens Status" independent of Po-