With the 'Claim to Fame' of being the first United States coinage with the motto 'IN GOD WE TRUST' upon the face of the coin, the Two-Cent piece is a staple in any coin collection. Thanks to the Act of April 22, 1864, the Two-Cent piece was authorized and began minting in that year. As a direct result of the uncertainty of the Civil War, Americans were hoarding all forms of hard money. Initial mintages were quite vast in 1864 and two variations existed that year, with the small motto examples as the harder to find variant. Mintages slowly declined as the Indian cents of the time became more available and as a result the two cent piece was slowly phased out of production. The final year of production was in 1873 and only proof examples were made that year with a total of 600 minted between two different variations.