1865 2C Mint Error PCGS MS64 RB. This two-cent, Civil War dated mint error is featured in the 2010 book 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins by Brown, Camire, and Weinberg. The coin shows a deep obverse die cap and a reverse brockage. It is an MS64 RB coin that is mainly mint red with a few blended hints of brown toning. The fully detailed obverse shows not a trace of wear on WE in the motto, the leaves, or the horizontal lines of the shield.

A capped die is caused when a struck coin sticks to the hammer die in the press. Once one side of the coin, usually the obverse, caps the die the others side becomes the new face of the die. When the next planchet goes into the collar and is struck, the design of the die cap is pressed into the planchet and creates a brockage, which is a mirror image of the original. As more planchets are struck, the process repeats itself. Each new strike causes the metal to be pushed further around the shaft of the die. After assuming the shape of a thimble or bottle cap because of multiple strikes, the capped coin frees itself from the die. The present coin must have been struck four to six times based on the size and amount of detail present on the reverse.

The two-cent coin was designed by James B. Longacre. It was first issued in 1864 and was struck in bronze like the new Indian Head cents. At the time all coins were scarce because of hoarding. It was a time of uncertainty, and Americans wanted hard money. Mintages declined after 1864, the first year of issue, because Indian Head cents became available along with the new three-cent nickel coin.

The obverse shows a large shield in heraldic design. Two arrows are hidden by the shield with only the heads and feathers visible. On both sides of the shield hangs an olive branch. At the top of the coin, above the shield, is a broad ribbon with a fold in the center. On this ribbon is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The reverse of the coin, not visible on the present piece because of the brockage, shows a wreath with two stems tied at the bottom by a ribbon. Within the wreath is the denomination written as 2 CENTS. The legend UNITED STATE OF AMERICA is around the wreath.

The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to United States coinage because of increased religious sentiment during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase received many requests that Gods name be added. The first appeal was from the Reverend M. R. Watkinson of Ridleville, Pennsylvania. He suggested the words God, Liberty, Law. Chase asked Mint Director James Pollock to prepare a motto to use on coins. Pollock suggested Our Trust is in God, Our God And Our Country, God And Our Country, and God Our Trust. Chase picked In God We Trust as a subtle reminder that the North considered itself on Gods side on the issue of slavery. Congress approved the motto without thinking about the constitutional aspects of using it.

James Barton Longacre was born in Pennsylvania in 1794. He became an apprentice to a bookseller and then a banknote engraver in Philadelphia. In 1819 he worked on his own as an engraver and made metal plates for bank notes and book illustrations. His works included one on stage personalities and another on the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1830 Longacre and James Herring made plans to do a series of biographies of famous men in the military and in politics. This project became the National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans in four volumes that was first published in 1834. This set of books brought great fame to Longacre and those who worked with him. In 1844, through the influence of John C. Calhoun, Longacre was made Chief Engraver at the Mint, where he succeeded the late Christian Gobrecht. Longacres experience was limited, but he was a talented artist. By 1849 he was able to create the gold dollar and double eagle, the design of which lasted until well into the twentieth century. One of Longacres associates, Chief Coiner Franklin Peale, opposed Longacres appointment and became an obstructionist. Peale ran a lucrative and illicit, private medal-making business using Mint facilities, and he felt that Longacres presence would jeopardize it. In 1854 Peale was fired by President Franklin Pearce, and Longacres life became easier. Longacre remained Chief Engraver until his death in 1869. Coins from Longacres estate were auctioned the next year. They included patterns, coins of Chile, and regularly issued coins.

Capped die error coins are favorites among error collectors because they are so eye-catching. With fewer than half a dozen two-cent capped die pieces known, they are exceedingly rare and desirable.