1871 Two-Cent Piece
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 721,250 made
- Mintage
- 721,250
- Metal
- 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc
- Weight
- 6.22 g
- Diameter
- 23 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1871 Two-Cent Piece worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1871 Two-Cent Piece rare?
- Somewhat. 721,250 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1871 Two-Cent Piece?
- No mint mark. All two-cent pieces were struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1871 are scarcer?
- The 1872 at 65,000. So the 1871 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1871 Two-Cent Piece coins were made?
- 721,250.
What to check on your 1871
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1871 Two-Cent Piece Proof (960 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the word WE on the motto ribbon and the leaves around the shield. Full red copper is rare.
The story of the 1871
Philadelphia made 721,250 in 1871, down from 861,250 in 1870. The next year it made 65,000 (1872).
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1871 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1870 (861,250) and the 1869 (1,546,500).
Only the 1872 has a lower mintage among Philadelphia's 9 Two-Cent Pieces.
Declining demand and the proof-only finale (1867 to 1873)
Once copper-nickel three-cent pieces and nickels were in circulation, demand for the two-cent piece fell year after year, from 2,938,750 in 1867 to 721,250 in 1871. The 1867 doubled die obverse shows clear doubling in the motto. Mintages for 1868 to 1870 continued the slide. Proofs were made every year of the period in runs of several hundred.
The 1872 had only 65,000 business strikes and is scarce. In 1873 only proofs were made, with closed 3 originals and open 3 restrikes, before the Coinage Act of 1873 abolished the denomination. Many two-cent pieces were later redeemed and melted, so circulated coins of the later dates are much scarcer than the early ones. The 1872 is also often counterfeited by altering a common date.
As cents returned to circulation after the war, demand for the two-cent piece fell year after year, from about 3 million in 1867 to around 65,000 in 1872. The 1867 doubled die obverse and the 1869/8 overdate are known varieties. In 1873 only proofs were struck, in Closed 3 and Open 3 versions and the Coinage Act of that year ended the denomination.
How to recognize it
A shield framed by laurel branches with crossed arrows behind it fills the obverse, with a scroll reading IN GOD WE TRUST above and the date below. It was the first US coin to carry the motto. The reverse shows 2 CENTS inside a wreath of wheat, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the rim.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Two-Cent Piece (1864–1873) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 721,250 |
| Face value | 2¢ |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze) |
| Weight | 6.22 grams |
| Diameter | 23 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Other 1871 Two-Cent Piece issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 Two-Cent Piece | 721,250 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1871 Two-Cent Piece Proof | 960 | Proof | – |
Mintage: Two-cent piece (United States) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.