The two-cent coin was minted for circulation from 1864 to 1872. Abraham Lincoln signed the Coinage Act of 1864 which made it legal to mint coins in non-precious metals. Previously coins were made of precious metals like copper, nickel, silver, and gold. The two-cent coin was one of the first coins minted as non-precious metal alloy. It was also the first US coin to be inscribed with the phrase “In God We Trust”.