Among the most common design elements on United States coins are stars. Many of the older USA coin types featured 13 stars, representative of the original states that declared their independence from Britain in 1776.
the most common design elements on United States coins
are stars. Many of the older USA coin types featured
13 stars, representative of the original states that
declared their independence from Britain in 1776.
Of our current coin types, only the Kennedy half dollar
still bears these 13 stars. They appear above the eagle
in addition to a circle of 50 stars, both features being
components of the presidential seal depicted on the half
dollar's reverse. If one considers the Anthony
dollar to be a current type (I still get them in change
from the post office once in awhile), then it too bears
an arc of 13 stars on its obverse. The Roosevelt dime
has no stars, while the Jefferson nickel has but one,
which is used as a "stop" for the legends.
The Lincoln cent likewise does not include stars in its
design, though Frank Gasparro's original model
for the Memorial reverse of 1959 bore 13 stars (these
were removed at the direction of the Treasury secretary
to achieve a less cluttered look). The current state
quarter series include among its entries many designs
having various numbers of stars, these having either
national or local significance.
The first coins issued by the USA were the Fugio cents.
Dated 1787, numerous varieties were produced, yet the
only star that appeared on most of these was our sun,
shown in the ancient fashion as having a face. A single
variety of the Fugio series features eight-pointed stars
on a garter, but these were used solely as stops between
the words STATES and UNITED. Among the 1792-dated pattern
coins of the infant U.S. Mint, only the half dimes bore
a star—a single, five-pointed star which, in the
traditional language of heraldry, is known as a mullet.
Strictly speaking, in heraldry only the six-pointed depiction
may be called a star, yet both variants have been used
interchangeably on United States coinage. In American
numismatics the mullet is sometimes referred to as an
American star, while the six-pointed version is described
as an English star, but I've not been able to find
any definitive source for such usage.
The so-called English star predominates on 18th and 19th
Century United States coins, but it gave way to the American
star for most 20th Century issues. Charles Barber's
quarter dollar and half dollar of 1892 appear to have
been transitional, as they feature six-pointed stars
on the obverse and five-pointed ones on the reverse.
Barber himself was English-born, but it's doubtful
that this played any role in his decision. Fellow U.S.
Mint Engraver George Morgan was likewise an Englishman,
yet he utilized six-pointed stars for both sides of his
1878 silver dollar.
The first mass-produced coins of the U.S. Mint to display
stars as a regular feature of their designs were the
silver dollars, half dollars and half dimes of 1794.
These bore 15 stars around the bust of Liberty, representing
the number of states in the Union at that time. This
number was carried over from the first cents of 1793,
which featured 15 interlocking chain links. As Tennessee
was admitted to the Union in 1796, newly prepared dies
for the silver and gold coins included 16 stars. This
resulted in a somewhat crowded appearance, and it was
decided a short time later that only the original 13
states could be honored in this fashion. An example of
how rapidly this transition occurred may be seen in the
half dimes dated 1797. These come with alternately 15,
16 or 13 stars, the dies having been prepared in that
The notion of featuring stars for each of the current
states arose again in 1836. Christian Gobrecht created
a series of pattern silver dollars, some of which included
26 stars on the reverse. Thirteen stars were larger than
the others, indicating the original states, while the
remaining 13 were for the later states, the 26 star being
included in anticipation of Michigan's admission
to the Union in 1837. With the exception of some commemorative
issues, this idea of freezing a moment in time was ultimately
dropped until 2000, when it was revived for the new Sacagawea
dollar. This coin features 17 stars to reflect the number
of states at the time Lewis and Clark embarked on their
epic journey in 1804.
There are some real oddities when it comes to stars on
United States coins. For example, on the Seated Liberty
half dime, dime and quarter the stars are positioned
so that they point toward one another. On the twenty-cent
piece, half dollar and silver dollar of the same design
they point toward the denticulated border. Oddly enough,
the pattern silver dollars of 1836-39 show the stars
pointed toward one another, but this feature was changed
when the coins went into mass production in 1840.
Another peculiarity concerns the quarter dollars of 1892.
It's already been noted that the obverse stars
are six-pointed, while the reverse stars have five points.
But when the reverse design was modified, shortly after
coinage began, the orientation of some of the stars was
changed. On the Type 1 reverse of 1892 the star directly
above the eagle's head points upward, while on
the more common Type 2 reverse this star points downward.
David W. Lange's column "USA Coin Album" appears
monthly in Numismatist, the official publication
of the American Numismatic Association.