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.

By the late 19th century, the United States had established itself as a world leader in the area of civil engineering.
Description
By the late 19th century, the United States had established itself as a world leader in the area of civil engineering. Perhaps no project better symbolized America's technical prowess than the awe-inspiring Brooklyn Bridge, which connected the nation's largest and third largest cities—New York and Brooklyn, respectively—in 1883 across the turbulent tidal strait known as the East River. The main 1,600-foot (490-meter) span of this towering suspension bridge exceeded the world's longest span by fifty percent.
The bridge's opening prompted a huge celebration. This white metal medallion was struck to commemorate that occasion. Its obverse proudly proclaims the motto, "Two Cities As One," while the legend on its reverse reads: "Souvenir of the Opening of the East River Bridge, May 24th 1883."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1883
associated date
1883-05-24
ID Number
1981.0079.01
accession number
1981.0079
catalog number
1981.0079.01
Celluloid badge medallion. One side features a tinted photograph of an eldery man, labeled "Moses Guilford Lowe -- First Boy Baby Born in Guilford," with a brown border. The reverse side is white with blue print.
Description (Brief)
Celluloid badge medallion. One side features a tinted photograph of an eldery man, labeled "Moses Guilford Lowe -- First Boy Baby Born in Guilford," with a brown border. The reverse side is white with blue print. The item is a souvenir of the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Guilford, Maine (1816-1916).
The medallion is an advertising piece for "R. E. Prey-- Your Barber."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1916
maker
Cruver Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1635
catalog number
2006.0098.1635
accession number
2006.0098

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.