U.S. nickel have beenmade from a mix of metals — atomic number 28 ( 75 % ) and copper ( 25%)—since 1866 . The U.S. Mint is presently calculate into way to make the nickel less expensive to produce . But what if we go back to 1866 and search what the atomic number 28 looked like then ? What were early American five - centime pieces really like ?
THE HALF-DI(S)ME
The U.S. first mint a 5 - centime coin in 1792 . Congress called it a half - dime bag . ( Technically it was a " half - disme , " but see below for more on the spelling . ) That coin wasonly briefly made , and had an odd design . coin collector also disagree aboutwhether it was even intended to go around . The more plebeian design looks like the image above — start in 1794 , the " run hair " half dime bag ruled , though it too went through a serial publication of plan changes in 1796 and 1800 .
One of the unknown things about the half - dime was its lack of a numeral value instruction . Nowhere on the observe or reverse does the coin say what it ’s deserving . The designs were very standardised to half - buck and dollar coin , just much little . ( This was typical for U.S. coins at the time ; the 1790s - epoch dime also lack an indicant of value in cent . )
Fun fact : In theCoinage Act of 1792 , the dime bag was referred to as the " disme , " and that condition is print on the 1792 copper disme … er , dime bag .
THE PAPER NICKEL
The Civil War had a ultra effect on U.S. up-to-dateness , for various cause ( not least that half the area did n’t recognize its value ) . In 1884 , the U.S. issued and directly recall five - centime paper notes . The invention was manage by Spencer M. Clark , who supervised the Currency Bureau . Guess who ’s on the greenback ? Yep , it ’s Spencer M. Clark . Congress promptly give-up the ghost legislation preventing the depiction of live people on U.S. currency , as the Clark incident came just afterSalmon P. Chase put himself on the one dollar bill beak .
This five - penny note was accompanied by a couple of new coins : two- and three - centime while . These are worthy of quotation here , but they ’re not Ni , so permit ’s move on .
BIG NICKEL GETS ITS COIN
The said three - cent small-arm contained a mixture of nickel and copper , which stimulate industrials who controlled Ni production . Through respectable old - fashioned lobbying , Big Nickel involvement managed to secure the 75 % nickel/25 % fuzz formula for a five - cent piece , and the relaxation is history .
The first true " nickel note " appeared in 1866 , and bear a shield pattern based on the previous two - cent piece . It was a very bounteous coin , and it even said " 5 centime " on the verso ! Good job , U.S. Mint .
FURTHER READING
For more on former U.S. up-to-dateness : What the Original $ 1 Bill search Like;The First U.S.-Minted Penny Was Horrific ; andWhere Do U.S. Coin Names Come From?You might also enjoythis story of the nickel , orthis beautifully - illustrated nickel note story .
( All visualize public domain via Wikimedia Commons . For details , see thefive - centime note , half - dime bag obverse , half - dime reverse , andshield atomic number 28 . )
