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The U.S. Two Cent coin first appeared in 1864,
during a stretch of coin shortages brought on by the Civil War.
It was the first U.S. coin to bear the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST", an
expression
of faith in the Almighty to guide the nation through those perilous
times.
Other
significant aspects of the Two Cent coin is
that it was made of
95% copper, plus tin and zinc (i.e. bronze), and intentionally
underweighted in relation to its face value.
Along with the bronze Indian Head Cent of 1864, the public readily
accepted the
idea of underweight coppers as pocket change, which alleviated the coin
shortage.
Although underweight coinage proved to be a workable concept, the Two
Cent coin itself never gained traction with
the people and was discontinued in 1873.
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