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 Replies: 9 / Views: 912 |
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Press Manager
 United States
1420 Posts |
PCGS - Have you ever heard of U.S. coins that have silver plugs in them? Many folks wonder what's up with these plugs - and why some coins ever had to receive a silver plug at all. What it comes down to is a matter of ensuring that the coins into which these plugs were inserted were struck to the exacting specifications of the U.S. government. It's always been the case that United States coins must be produced to a strict standard. However, this matter was especially crucial at a time in early U.S. history when coinage contained precious metal and the face value of these coins was tied to the intrinsic metal value of these pieces.  Check out Early Large Cents on ebay.  1792 Silver-Center Cent with plugUnderweight coins could cause a variety of significant problems. Chiefly, these coins had to contain an amount of metal with monetary bullion value equivalent to the face value declared on the coin. But there was another challenge at hand, too. These early American coins had to help build faith in Americans that their nation's new monetary system was built on integrity and could be trusted. Indeed, the government had to instill confidence among millions of Americans that their coins were worth what they were supposed to be. This was especially a concern when the fledgling nation was just beginning to strike sovereign coinage, and most Americans relied on established coins like the Spanish Dollar, which was widely trusted around the world and still legal tender in the United States back in the late 1700s and early 1800s. PCGS describes silver plugs in the following way: "On certain early American coins, a silver plug was inserted into a hole in the center of the coin, which was then flattened out when the coin was struck. The purpose of the plug was to add weight or value to the coin to bring it into proper specifications. Examples include the 1792 Silver-Center Cent (pictured above), a Specimen 1794 Silver Dollar, and several varieties of 1795 Silver Dollars."
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
25400 Posts |
Very interesting! The exact opposite of a "plugged nickel".
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
8775 Posts |
Well, there you have it in a nutshell. There was a time when the coin was worth what the coin said it was worth.... It's been a minute.
-makecents-
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11898 Posts |
It was the opposite of filing overweight planchets down to weight specifications leaving behind so-called "adjustment marks." It was all done in the adjusting department at the mint and was more important for gold coins. It all seems so primitive nowadays.  Adjusting Department, U.S. Mint in New Orleans, 1897 Source: Photo by E.S. Gardner via Library of Congress website IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2340 Posts |
Is there any other info regarding plugged coins...denominations, years that this went on till...?
Thanks!
smat
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11898 Posts |
I haven't seen any mint produced silver plugs after 1795.
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8775 Posts |
That is cool, numismatic student! Plugging and filling, I like it! At this time, were gold and silver more consistent in price or was there lots of fluctuation?
-makecents-
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2340 Posts |
Quote:
I haven't seen any mint produced silver plugs after 1795.  smat |
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Moderator
United States
96989 Posts |
quite interesting - I had thought that the plugs were added afterwards by ordinary folks.
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Moderator
United States
189133 Posts |
Very interesting topic! |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 912 |
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Posted 10/10/2025 7:59 pm
