Most Americans recognize the phrase “In God We Trust” from our coins and paper currency, but this iconic national motto didn’t always appear on U.S. money. So when and why did this religious phrase become part of our national coinage?
Civil War Era: The Spark for Change
The phrase first appeared on the two-cent coin in 1864, during one of the most traumatic periods in American history, the Civil War. Citizens on both sides, reeling from massive casualties and national upheaval, turned to faith for comfort. Amid this uncertainty, public requests emerged asking the U.S. government to reflect religious trust on its currency.
In 1861, the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, received the first request for an acknowledgement of God on the national coinage. Rev. M.R. Watkinson wrote to him with a design for a coin in mind involving a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION, the all-seeing eye crowned with a halo, the American flag with all the stars of the once again united states, and the words GOD, LIBERTY, and LAW.
“This,” Watkinson wrote, “would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.”
In response, Secretary Chase wrote to the Philadelphia Mint’s director, James Pollock, in November of 1861 asking him to add a motto to the coinage that would express “in the fewest and tersest words possible” that the people of the United States trusted God’s strength to defend them.
Legislation Opens the Door
Despite Chase’s interest, the Mint couldn’t act immediately. An 1837 Act of Congress strictly defined what mottoes could appear on U.S. coinage, and “In God We Trust” wasn’t one of them. That changed in April 1864, when Congress passed new legislation authorizing the two-cent coin and modifying the one-cent coin.
Taking this opportunity, the Mint director designed the new two-cent piece with the motto IN GOD WE TRUST inscribed prominently on a banner above a shield with 13 stripes. Crossed arrows, a laurel wreath, and traditional patriotic elements filled out the rest of the coin. The reverse included the denomination 2 CENTS inside a wheat wreath.
The Mint struck over 20 million of these coins in 1864, producing two distinct varieties: the large motto and the small motto. The small motto version, with its subtle lettering and wider spacing, remains more desirable to collectors today.
Expanded Use Across U.S. Coinage
Congress followed up in 1865 by passing a new law allowing the Mint Director to add the motto to all gold and silver coins with the Secretary’s approval. As a result, the phrase appeared on:
- Gold double eagle, eagle, and half-eagle coins
- Silver dollar, half dollar, and quarter dollar coins
- Nickel three-cent coins
By 1873, Congress broadened the law again to allow the motto on “such coins as shall admit such motto.”
The Mint gradually added the phrase to more denominations over the years:
- On Lincoln cents starting in 1909
- On dimes in 1916
- On all gold and silver dollar, half-dollar, and quarter-dollar coins by 1908
Despite some delays in adoption, the phrase gained steady popularity.
A National Motto Appears on All U.S. Currency
During the Cold War, amid efforts to distinguish the U.S. from the state atheism of the Soviet Union, Congress formally declared “In God We Trust” the national motto in 1956. In 1957, the phrase began appearing on paper currency for the first time.
Today, every U.S. coin and bill, across all denominations, bears this motto. It has become so common that most Americans barely notice it.
Key Facts About “In God We Trust” on Coins
- First coin to feature it: 1864 two-cent coin
- Authorized by: 1864 Act of Congress + Treasury directives
- Popularized during: American Civil War
- Formally adopted as national motto: 1956
- First used on paper currency: 1957
- Appears on: All U.S. coins and paper bills today
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