The Coinage Act of 1864 was a United States federal law passed on April 22, 1864, which changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Director of the U.S. Mint developed the designs for these coins for final approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. As a result of this law, the phrase "In God We Trust" first appeared, on the 1864 two-cent coin. An Act of Congress, passed on March 3, 1865, allowed the Mint Director, with the Secretary's approval, to place the phrase on all gold and silver coins that "shall admit the inscription thereon." In 1956, "In God We Trust" replaced "E Pluribus Unum" as the national motto. Beginning in 1957 currency was also printed with the motto. The law also made it illegal to privately mint one and two cent coins for circulation, thus effectively ending the production of Civil War tokens.
Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized the minting of the two-cent piece (pictured), the first U
Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized the minting of the two-cent piece (pictured), the first U.S. coin to bear the phrase "In God We Trust".
On April 22, in the year 1864, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized the minting of the two-cent piece (pictured), the first U.S. coin to bear the phrase "In God We Trust". This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of April 22, one of 297 recorded events on this date across all of history.
Key Facts
- This event took place on April 22, 1864 (AD era).
- It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
- Referenced in 3 Wikipedia articles.
- Wikipedia source last updated on 20 April 2026.
On This Date in History 297
This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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