Half dimes, half dollars, and silver dollars of 1794 and
1795 are found with the so-called Flowing Hair motif. Each features an
attractively styled head of Miss Liberty facing to the right, flowing tresses
behind, with the word LIBERTY above, stars to the left and right, and the date
below.
The Draped Bust design, said to have been modeled from a
sketch by artist Gilbert Stuart, is found on coinage beginning with the silver
dollar of 1795, expanding to the cent, half dime, dime, quarter, and half dollar
of 1796. Curiously, the motif was not used on the half cent until later, in
1800.
The wreath was employed as part of the reverse design of
most coinage of the 1793-1799 years, with the 1793 Chain reverse cent being a
notable exception. Half cents and large cents have the denomination within the
wreath and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the outside border, while the silver
denominations have an eagle at the center. Early versions are designated as the
Small Eagle design and feature a bird with thin wings perched on a cloud. This
was followed by the Heraldic Eagle motif, which was an adaptation of the Great
Seal of the United States, as noted.
The edges of half cents from 1793 through part of 1795 are
lettered TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR, a feature intended to furnish useful
information and also to deter clipping or edge filing. Many Liberty Cap cents of
the era have edge lettering, as do all half dollars and silver dollars. The half
dime, dime, and quarter were deemed to be too thin for edge lettering to be
placed on the coin or to be read properly.
During the cradle days of the Philadelphia Mint, the 1793
through 1799 years discussed here, relatively few coins were produced in
comparison to the number of pieces needed for circulation. So, the channels of
commerce were filled with coins struck elsewhere. British copper coins were in
abundance, as were numerous coppers produced by Connecticut, New Jersey,
Vermont, Massachusetts, and other entities. Silver coins were apt to be
Spanish-American types, the silver-dollar size eight-real pieces of Mexico and
southward, and their fractional parts such as the four reales, two reales, and
one real. These fractional pieces were referred to as "bits." Hence, a
two-real coin, equal in value to a quarter dollar, was familiarly known as
"two bits," a term which still survives in the English language. It
was not until 1857 that Congress felt that enough United States coins had been
produced that foreign coins should no longer be legal tender. If you were to
have entered a tavern in the year 1796, for example, the chances are that a
handful of pocket change, upon inspection, would have contained very few
Philadelphia Mint coins. It took a decade or two until enough pieces were in
circulation that they were encountered in everyday transactions.
