1875 Twenty-Cent Pieces (1875-1878)

Intriguing History

Introduced in 1875 at the urging of Nevada's silver-mining interests, the twenty-cent piece was meant to make small change easier in the West, where dimes and half dimes were easily lost or confused. Its plain edge and similar size to the quarter caused instant, widespread mix-ups in commerce, dooming the denomination almost from the moment this coin left the press.