i think that this was part of the cold war effort, the pledge was also changed about this time to include a reference to god. russia was portrayed as heathen so the more references to god the better. i like what was written on the coins back in the day.
~M

>In contradiction with popular belief, the phrase "In God We Trust" was not required on coins until Congress enacted it in 1955/56 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Public Law 140 making it mandatory that all coinage and paper currency display the motto "In God We Trust." Until then, it was only sporadically on coins including the one-cent coin since 1909, on dimes since 1916 and on the 2cent coin created by the North in 1864 during the Civil War. The Coinage Act of 1864 enabled it if space permitted but it was not required.
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>Who remembers what was written on the coins back in 1787 when the Constitution was framed? (No fair using Google or listening to Paul Harvey today!)
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>:o)