Coins, Currency, and Medals

The museum possesses one of the largest and most diverse numismatic collections in the world. Its diverse holdings represent every inhabited continent and span more than three millennia. The collection includes coins, paper money, medals, tokens, commodity and alternative currencies, coin dies, printing plates, scales and weights, financial documents and apparatuses, credit cards, and objects that reflect established and emerging digital monetary technologies worldwide.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1779-01-14
1779
maker
Continental Congress
Hall & Sellers
ID Number
NU.6463
serial number
116252
catalog number
6463
accession number
28580
By the time they broke with England, the thirteen American colonies had been issuing paper currency for nearly a century.
Description
By the time they broke with England, the thirteen American colonies had been issuing paper currency for nearly a century. Both they and the loose central government they set up under the Articles of Confederation to oversee matters of common concern would continue to do so throughout the War of Independence. The "national" paper went by the name of "Continental Currency." As its name suggests, it was issued by the Continental Congress.
The paper on which it was printed was of very high quality but was also very soft. Because the notes were often folded horizontally, they often developed top-to-bottom breaks at midpoint. Left to themselves, the two halves would eventually part company. Whether anyone would take just half a note in payment was unclear. That uncertainty led people to adopt all kinds of stratagems to keep notes intact or repair those that had torn apart.
But there was more to it than that. To many, this new money symbolized a new nation-it had to be repaired, kept afloat. Because if it were not, what would that say about the aspiring nation that had issued it? Various methods were devised to do the job. In the case of this two-dollar bill, someone expert with a needle and thread-perhaps a housewife, or a sailor-carefully sewed the two halves back together. That effort has now survived for more than two centuries.
Continental currency was printed by Benjamin Franklin's successors, Hall & Sellers. Franklin also suggested inspiring vignettes and mottoes for the notes. The face of the two-dollar bill bears an image of grain being flailed (separated from the chaff), with the motto, TRIBULATIO DITAT (Troubles make us stronger).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1776
date on object
1776-02-17
maker
Continental Congress
Hall & Sellers
ID Number
NU.69.217.34
accession number
287114
catalog number
69.217.34
The thirty-dollar note was the highest denomination issued during the first three years or so of Continental Currency. We might wonder why the authorities issued such an odd denomination.
Description
The thirty-dollar note was the highest denomination issued during the first three years or so of Continental Currency. We might wonder why the authorities issued such an odd denomination. The answer is that what seems odd to us seemed perfectly logical to them.
The thirty-dollar bills-and threes, fours, sixes, and eights, as well as bills worth a sixth, or a third, or two-thirds of a dollar-were put into circulation for two reasons. First, some of them were conscious substitutes for coins of the same value. And second, they were there to make change: if all you have in circulation is paper currency, you had better give the public the money it needs.
So if a merchant got an eight-dollar Continental note in payment for a five-dollar object, he could give the customer a three in return. This situation in fact lasted through the mid-1860s. Notes in today's familiar denominations are a recent phenomenon.
The image on the face of the note speaks to the advantages of righteous dealing (appropriate for a commercial object such as this note). The images on the back present two views on the reasons for the war against England. The left one (VI CONCITATAE) suggests that the colonies were forced into the conflict, while the one on the right (CESSANTE VENTO CONQUIESCEMUS) promises that they would rest and revive after it was over.
Continental currency often split in half because it was frequently folded. This bill was sewn back together to repair it.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1776
date on object
1776-07-22
maker
Continental Congress
Hall & Sellers
ID Number
NU.69.217.54
catalog number
69.217.54
accession number
287114
serial number
29269
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date on object
1776-02-17
date made
1776
issuing authority
Continental Congress
maker
Continental Congress
Hall & Sellers
ID Number
NU.68.135.80
catalog number
68.135.80
accession number
279615
serial number
270317
One (1) 20 dollar coin, proofUnited States, 1890Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1890Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin, proof
United States, 1890
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1890
Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest. Scrolls on either side of eagle, ring of 13 stars above eagle's head, rays above stars.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST / E PLURIBUS UNUM
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
designer
Longacre, James Barton
maker
United States Mint
ID Number
1985.0441.1046
catalog number
1985.0441.1046
accession number
1985.0441
Founded in 1904 by wealthy financier Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (CHFC) exists to honor acts of individual civilian heroism in the United States and Canada.
Description
Founded in 1904 by wealthy financier Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (CHFC) exists to honor acts of individual civilian heroism in the United States and Canada. It is still active today; recipients include both the living, the dead, and persons directly affected by the loss of a heroic relative.
The emotional impact on the general public of the April 1912 loss of the ocean liner Titanic was astonishing, and the continually updated story lasted for months in the contemporary newspapers. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Commission felt inspired to honor all the heroes who had risked their lives in the rescue of the 700 passengers, so at their April 26, 1912 meeting they authorized a nine-oz. 22-k gold medal to be struck, mounted in an elaborate bronze base, inscribed and presented to the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian accepted the gift and displayed it before adding it to the National Numismatic Collection in the National Museum of American History.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1912
maker
Flanagan, John
ID Number
NU.13650
accession number
54893
catalog number
13650
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1905Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1905Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1905
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1905
Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest. Scrolls on either side of eagle, ring of 13 stars above eagle's head, rays above stars.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST / E PLURIBUS UNUM / S
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.68.159.1043
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1043
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1860Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1860Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1860
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1860
Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest. Scrolls on either side of eagle, ring of 13 stars above eagle's head, rays above stars.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY D. / E PLURIBUS UNUM
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1860
maker
United States Mint
designer
Longacre, James Barton
ID Number
NU.68.159.0964
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0964
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976-09-19
writer
Midura, Edmund
original artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.031
catalog number
2009.0005.031
accession number
2009.0005
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1922Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1922
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1922
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
1985.0441.1486
catalog number
1985.0441.1486
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 10 dollar noteUnited States, 1861Obverse Image: Bust of Abraham Lincoln at the left. Eagle with a shield in center. Allegorical representation of Art at right.Obverse Text: 10/ X / AMERICAN BANKNOTE CO. NEW YORK / WASHINGTON AUGUST 10TH, 1861.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar note
United States, 1861
Obverse Image: Bust of Abraham Lincoln at the left. Eagle with a shield in center. Allegorical representation of Art at right.
Obverse Text: 10/ X / AMERICAN BANKNOTE CO. NEW YORK / WASHINGTON AUGUST 10TH, 1861. / A / ACT OF JULY 17, 1861 / ON DEMAND, THE UNITED STATES PROMISE TO PAY TO THE BEARER TEN DOLLARS / PATENTED 30 JUNE 1857. / NO. 42821 / PAYABLE BY THE ASST. TREASURER OF THE U.S. AT PHILADA. / RECEIVABLE IN PAYMENT OF ALL PUBLIC DUES
Reverse Image: A star in a circle at each of the four corners. A grid of X's create the background.
Reverse Text: TEN DOLLARS / UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / X / 10 / TEN
Description
This ten-dollar “greenback,” given this name because of the fraud-deterrent green ink on the back of the bill, features Abraham Lincoln and was redeemable for coinage. Demand notes, like this one, were released in August 1861, the first time government paper money was issued since the Revolutionary War. Although this money was distributed by the government, it was made by the American Bank Note Company, the same company that produced private bank notes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1861
depicted
Lincoln, Abraham
maker
American Bank Note Company
ID Number
NU.78.5.747
accession number
1978.0941
catalog number
78.5.747
serial number
42821
This ten dollar note was issued by the Bank of the United States in 1831 in Philadelphia and it reads "The President of the Bank of the United States promises to pay C.S.
Description
This ten dollar note was issued by the Bank of the United States in 1831 in Philadelphia and it reads "The President of the Bank of the United States promises to pay C.S. Towell or bearer on demand ten dollars.” Although made of paper this is not cash, it actually represents a promise to pay a debt. In addition to script and images that represent the Republic this private bank note is also adorned with the signature of Nicholas Biddle, then president of the Bank of United States.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1831
ID Number
1979.1263.02174
accession number
1979.1263
collector/donor number
CM00561
catalog number
79.112.CM00561
One (1) 10 dollar coin, proofUnited States, 1795Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a cap, facing right.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin, proof
United States, 1795
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a cap, facing right. 15 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1795
Reverse Image: Small eagle perched on a palm branch with wings outstretched, holding a wreath aloft in its beak.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1795
mint
United States Mint
designer
Scot, Robert
ID Number
NU.68.159.0262
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0262
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1877Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1877Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1877
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1877
Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest. Scrolls on either side of eagle, ring of 13 stars above eagle's head, rays above stars.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST / E PLURIBUS UNUM
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1877
maker
United States Mint
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.255927.0306
catalog number
NU*255927.0306
accession number
255927
One (1) 20 dollar coin, proofUnited States, 1874Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1874Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin, proof
United States, 1874
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1874
Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest. Scrolls on either side of eagle, ring of 13 stars above eagle's head, rays above stars.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY D. / IN GOD WE TRUST / E PLURIBUS UNUM
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
maker
United States Mint
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
1985.0441.0807
catalog number
1985.0441.0807
accession number
1985.0441
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1796
mint
United States Mint
ID Number
NU.69.134.21
accession number
285821
catalog number
69.134.21
One (1) 5 dollar noteUnited States, 1861Obverse Image: Statue of Freedom at left. Bust of Alexander Hamilton at lower right.Obverse Text: FIVE / AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK / NO. 59787 / SERIES 12.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar note
United States, 1861
Obverse Image: Statue of Freedom at left. Bust of Alexander Hamilton at lower right.
Obverse Text: FIVE / AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK / NO. 59787 / SERIES 12. / 5 / THE UNITED STATES PROMISE TO PAY TO THE BEARER FIVE DOLLARS ON DEMAND / WASHINGTON / AUG. 10TH, 1861 / PAYABLE BY THE ASSISTANT TREASURER OF THE UNITED STATES AT BOSTON / C / ACT OF JULY 17, 1861. / RECEIVABLE IN PAYMENT OF ALL PUBLIC DUES.
Reverse Image: A repeating pattern of the number "5" in green ink.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / FIVE / FIVE DOLLARS / 5
Description
A Demand Note is a type of United States paper money that was issued between August 1861 and April 1862 during the American Civil War in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 United States Dollars. Demand notes were nicknamed "greenbacks" because of the back side of the note was printed in green ink.
Location
Currently not on view
date on object
1861-08-10
date made
1861
depicted
Hamilton, Alexander
issuing authority
Department of the Treasury
ID Number
NU.78.5.086
accession number
1978.0941
catalog number
78.5.086
serial number
59787
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteersCurrently not on view
Crowdsourcing
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteers
Location
Currently not on view
BEP certification date
1887-06-27
plate date
1887-06-14
issuing authority
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasurer of the United States
Hyatt, James William
Register of the Treasury
Rosecrans, William S.
issuing bank
Chestnut Street National Bank of Philadelphia
manufacturer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.297219.035125
catalog number
297219.035125
accession number
297219
bank charter number
3723
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteersCurrently not on view
Crowdsourcing
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteers
Location
Currently not on view
BEP certification date
1908-07-08
plate date
1904-11-24
series date
1902
issuing authority
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasurer of the United States
Roberts, Ellis Henry
Register of the Treasury
Lyons, Judson Whitlocke
issuing bank
Bank of North America
depicted
McKinley, William
McCulloch, Hugh
manufacturer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.297219.033512
accession number
297219
catalog number
297219.033512
bank charter number
602
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteersCurrently not on view
Crowdsourcing
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteers
Location
Currently not on view
BEP certification date
1908-07-01
plate date
1903-02-25
series date
1902
Treasurer of the United States
Roberts, Ellis Henry
Register of the Treasury
Lyons, Judson Whitlocke
issuing bank
Third National Bank of Philadelphia
depicted
McKinley, William
McCulloch, Hugh
issuing authority
U.S. Department of the Treasury
manufacturer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.297219.032796
catalog number
297219.032796
accession number
297219
bank charter number
234
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteersCurrently not on view
Crowdsourcing
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteers
Location
Currently not on view
BEP certification date
1904-02-12
plate date
1900-02-10
issuing authority
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasurer of the United States
Roberts, Ellis Henry
Register of the Treasury
Lyons, Judson Whitlocke
issuing bank
Merchants National Bank of Philadelphia
manufacturer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.297219.034628
accession number
297219
catalog number
297219.034628
bank charter number
2462
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteersCurrently not on view
Crowdsourcing
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteers
Location
Currently not on view
BEP certification date
1906-06-05
plate date
1889-06-01
issuing authority
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasurer of the United States
Huston, James Nelson
Register of the Treasury
Rosecrans, William S.
issuing bank
Quaker City National Bank of Philadelphia
manufacturer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.297219.035236
catalog number
297219.035236
accession number
297219
bank charter number
4050
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteersCurrently not on view
Crowdsourcing
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteers
Location
Currently not on view
plate date
1864-11-01
issuing authority
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasurer of the United States
New, John Chalfant
Register of the Treasury
Allison, John
issuing bank
Manufacturers National Bank of Philadelphia
manufacturer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.297219.033336
accession number
297219
catalog number
297219.033336
bank charter number
557
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteersCurrently not on view
Crowdsourcing
Transcribed by Smithsonian digital volunteers
Location
Currently not on view
BEP certification date
1908-06-18
plate date
1907-04-17
series date
1902
issuing authority
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasurer of the United States
Treat, Charles Henry
Register of the Treasury
Vernon, William Tecumseh
issuing bank
Market Street National Bank of Philadelphia
depicted
Sherman, John
Knox, John Jay
manufacturer
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.297219.035116
accession number
297219
catalog number
297219.035116
bank charter number
3684

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