The War of 1812

U.S. Coinage and the War of 1812
By Daniel Goevert

If a list of America’s “forgotten” wars were compiled, the War of 1812 would certainly rank near the top. Thumb too quickly through any United States history book, and you’re likely to skip right past the scant few pages typically devoted to this conflict.

The goal of this article is twofold: (1) Present a basic understanding of the causes, execution, and aftermath of the War of 1812, and (2) Study coinage types issued by the United States during those wartime years, how coinage was affected by the war, and to measure modern day collector interest in coins from that long ago era.

** (1) Causes of the Conflict
** (2) United States Coinage during the War of 1812
** (3) The Americans Fight the British Again
** (4) The United States Emerges a Stronger Nation
** (5) Coins from the War of 1812 and Today’s Collectors

** (1) Causes of the Conflict:
There are a number of factors causing the Americans to take on the British for a second time. They are:

-- Impressment of American seamen. The British sometimes raided U.S. ships in search of deserters. Often, seamen were seized, or impressed, and foricibly taken away. The most infamous impressment episode occurred in 1807 when the British warship HMS Leopard opened fire on the frigate USS Chesapeake, killing three and wounding 18 before boarding.

-- Desire for New Territories. Pioneers living in the northwestern part of the U.S. were looking for new farmlands, but were not eager to settle the treeless prairies to the west. The timbered regions of southern Canada were more attractive. To the south, denizens of those states eyed Spanish Florida, not only for farming potential, but because the peninsula was a haven for runaway slaves and Indians who regularly attacked frontier outposts. A war with Britain might give the Americans a justification for seizing Florida, since Spain was a close friend of Britain.

-- Native American Relations. As frontiersmen advanced westward, indigenous peoples fought back to preserve their ancestral lands. Encouraged by British Canadian agents, a confederation of Indian tribes, led by a Shawnee chief named Tecumseh, began offering organized resistance. Alarmed westerners demanded retaliation to dissolve this alliance.