Many Americans mistakenly believe that the government’s use of the words “In God We Trust” dates back to the time of the Founding Fathers – as do two other familiar coinage inscriptions, “Liberty” and “E Pluribus Unum.” In point of fact, it was the Civil War, not the American Revolution, that gave rise to the phrase. The bitter, bloody War Between the States stoked religious fervor and led the Union government to seek solace and guidance from above.
Up to then, during more than seven decades of production, no U.S. coin had carried the motto, or anything resembling it. U.S. coinage had never made reference before that time to a supreme being – but the strong religious sentiments stirred by the Civil War created a climate conducive to the use of such an inscription.
A Baptist minister from Ridleyville, Pa., the Rev. Mark R. Watkinson, is credited with planting the seed for this unprecedented action. In a letter to Salmon P. Chase, President Abraham Lincoln’s Treasury Secretary, dated Nov. 13, 1861, Watkinson urged that provision be made for “the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.”
“This,” he said, “would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This
would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed.”
Chase shared Watkinson’s view. And he soon set in motion steps that led to a
prominent reference to God on U.S. coinage. After receiving the minister’s
letter, he sent a note to Mint Director James Pollock stating: “The trust of our
people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device
to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest
tersest terms possible this national recognition.”
James Pollock was a former governor of Pennsylvania and an accomplished
congressman. He was raised in the Christian faith and had a strong belief in
God. He was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln with whom he had been active in
the anti-slavery movement.
Pollock apparently carried out this directive without delay. Though 1861 was
drawing to a close, he arranged for the striking of pattern half dollars and
eagles ($10 gold pieces) bearing that date. Patterns are coins produced by a
government mint to demonstrate something new – a new design, a new alloy or, as
in this instance, a new inscription. They carry a statement of value, but are
not legal tender because they were never monetized. And they’re frequently
struck in metals other than the ones used in regular coins of the same
denomination.
The pattern half dollars were identical in design to the Liberty Seated halves
then being issued for commerce – except for the addition of the motto “God Our
Trust” above the eagle on the reverse. In all, about three dozen of these were
made – some in silver and some in copper. The motto was placed on a scroll on
some of the coins, and written in small letters in the field above the eagle on
the rest.
The pattern $10 coins were struck in copper, rather than gold, some with bronzed
surfaces. Only 11 of these are known to survive; a single specimen in gold has
been reported but not confirmed. These had the same Liberty Head design as
regular $10 gold pieces of that time, but the words “God Our Trust” appeared in
the field above the eagle on the reverse.
Although there was no official reason for producing any more, similar pattern
half dollars and eagles were struck in somewhat higher quantities in both 1862
and 1863 – apparently to satisfy demand from numismatists who by then had become
aware of the earlier patterns’ existence.
There also are pattern silver dollars dated 1863 that are thought to have been
made at a later time, as well as some pattern halves seemingly struck in a
similar manner. Instead of “God Our Trust,” these bear the inscription “In God
We Trust” above the eagle. The Mint also produced a number of different patterns
in 1863 for a proposed bronze two-cent piece – and it soon became apparent that
such a coin, as a new denomination, would be a logical way to introduce an
inscription that also was new.
All forms of coinage vanished from circulation as the Civil War dragged on, largely because of speculative hoarding. The Union and Confederate governments both issued paper money, but this was widely distrusted and lost much of its value during the war – especially in the South, where Confederate notes eventually were used as wallpaper by many who found themselves holding the bags of worthless currency.