US Two Cent Cent Coins
The United States Two Cent Coin, though not a huge success for the US Mint, was the first coin struck with the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST". The coin was only minted for a short while, produced from 1864 to 1873 with each mintage increasingly smaller than the previous.Some of the more popular vareties to the collector are the small motto and large motto 1864s. The "IN GOD WE TRUST" motto has smaller, fatter lettering on some of the small motto variety. The small motto Two Cent pieces are far less common, so tend towards higher value than their large motto cousins.
Another harder to find $.02 piece is a double die variety from 1867. This isn't the only year with double dies, die cracks or other mint errors, but it is one of the more sought after.
The real jewels among two cent pieces however, in this collector's opinion anyway, are the open and closed 3 varieties of the 1873 Two Cent Coin. 1873 was a proof only mintage of only around 1,100 coins! 1873, curiously enough, also saw the end of the half dime and silver three cent piece.
Two cent pieces are reasonably common and easily collected in grades up to Mint State-65 and Proof-65, but higher grades are much scarcer. Full red is the most sought after coloring.
Specs: The US Two Cent Piece was designed by James B. Longacre, Chief Engraver of the US Mint, is a bit smaller than a quarter and is made up of 95% copper with tin and zinc making up the other 5%.
The obverse (front) has a shield below a ribbon with the IN GOD WE TRUST motto. Two arrows and a branch (olive branch?) are positioned behind the shield. The reverse bears a wreath and "2 Cents", with "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" around the wreath.
Mintage Figures
Courtesy of Wikipedia
1864 P - 19,847,500
1865 P - 13,640,000
1866 P - 3,177,000
1867 P - 2,938,750
1868 P - 2,803,750
1869 P - 1,546,500
1870 P - 861,250
1871 P - 721,250
1872 P - 65,000
1873 P - About 1,100 (proof only)