Coins, Currency, and Medals

$100,000 U.S. Gold Certificate

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.

Resource Type: Paper money

50 dollars

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1863
maker
Keatinge & Ball
ID Number
2008.0108.0013
serial number
16672
accession number
2008.0108

10 Dollars, Bank of the Commonwealth, Virginia, United States, 1858

One (1) 10 dollar noteVirginia, United States, 1858Obverse Image: Portrait of James Madison at left. In center, two men in front of George Washington's profile with dog and ships in background.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar note
Virginia, United States, 1858
Obverse Image: Portrait of James Madison at left. In center, two men in front of George Washington's profile with dog and ships in background. Warrior for pledge of security at right.
Obverse Text: 10 / STATE OF VIRGINIA / THE BANK OF THE COMMONWEALTH WILL PAY TO BEARER TEN DOLLARS ON DEMAND / NO. 1217 / B / RICHMOND, SEPT 4 1858 / CASHR. / PREST. / BALD, COUSLAND & CO. PHILADA & NEW YORK / AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1858
maker
Bald, Cousland & Co.
American Bank Note Company
ID Number
NU.73.11.1067
catalog number
73.11.1067
accession number
305034
serial number
1217

2 Dollars, Maryland, 1774

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1774
date on object
1774-04-10
maker
A. C. and F. Green
ID Number
NU.NU60868
serial number
16944
catalog number
NU60868
accession number
227803

50 Dollars, Obsolete Bank Note, American Bank Note Company, May 17, 1860

Bank notes, such as this one, were issued from private banks in the South. During the Civil War the South suffered from crippling inflation in part from the massive amount of Southern money in circulation.Currently not on view
Description
Bank notes, such as this one, were issued from private banks in the South. During the Civil War the South suffered from crippling inflation in part from the massive amount of Southern money in circulation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860-05-17
maker
American Bank Note Company
ID Number
1979.1263.01449C
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
1979.1263.01449C
serial number
No. 798

1 Dollar, Confederate States of America, 1862

Dated December 2, 1862, this note was almost completely worn out by the time someone got around to strengthening it with a piece of newspaper. Why would they have bothered?
Description
Dated December 2, 1862, this note was almost completely worn out by the time someone got around to strengthening it with a piece of newspaper. Why would they have bothered? We know that the repair was done in 1864, because the newspaper fragment mentions Andrew Johnson, who had been chosen to be Abraham Lincoln's running mate in the upcoming Northern elections.
By 1864, a Confederate dollar bill was worth very much less than a dollar, because most people could see the bleakness of Southern prospects. But money was money, and beyond its value as a means of exchange, it represented the hopes and dreams of an aspiring nation. Apparently, this bill mattered enough for someone to go to the trouble of patching it up and sending it on its way.
But look closely: they used a Northern newspaper. If such a publication were common enough to be recycled in this way, then matters were dire indeed. Night was closing in on the Confederacy, and on its money. Both were departing the realm of real events, moving into the realm of legend.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1863
1862
date made
gre 1862
maker
Confederate States of America
ID Number
1998.0063.0047
catalog number
1998.0063.0047
accession number
1998.0063
serial number
111--3

5 dollars

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1862
ID Number
2008.0108.0014
serial number
3499
accession number
2008.0108

25 Daler Bank Note

This 1666 private bank note is among the earliest paper currency items issued in the Western European tradition. The numerous signatures and seal represent the Bank of Stockholm in Sweden.
Description
This 1666 private bank note is among the earliest paper currency items issued in the Western European tradition. The numerous signatures and seal represent the Bank of Stockholm in Sweden. The denomination is 25 dalers or silver coins of an official unit in that country.
Paper currency from its earliest introduction held the promise of convenience for users who needed to transport value over distances easily. But people with considerable property were skeptical about the supposed benefits of paper currency because of the potential during crises for abuse by governments or private issuers of this new tool or instrument of exchange. The bank that issued this note, for example, needed to devote considerable sums of money to various government officials to gain approval for this novelty. Within a few years, this experiment ceased when an audit showed that insufficient assets supported the amount of money issued by the Bank of Stockholm. During the 18th century, paper became widespread to facilitate trade and commerce.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1666-03-21
issuing authority
Bank of Stockholm
ID Number
1999.0149.09
serial number
658
catalog number
1999.0149.09
accession number
1999.0149

1 Dollar, Rahway, New Jersey, United States, 1850

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1850
ID Number
1993.0583.0128
catalog number
1993.0583.0128
accession number
1993.0583
catalog number
93.583.128
serial number
1186

5 Dollars, Silver Certificate, United States, 1899

One (1) 5 dollar noteUnited States, 1899Obverse Image: Portrait of Tȟatȟóka Íŋyaŋke, also known as Running Antelope, wearing a feathered headdress.Obverse Text: 5 / SILVER CERTIFICATE / THIS CERTIFIES THAT THERE HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar note
United States, 1899
Obverse Image: Portrait of Tȟatȟóka Íŋyaŋke, also known as Running Antelope, wearing a feathered headdress.
Obverse Text: 5 / SILVER CERTIFICATE / THIS CERTIFIES THAT THERE HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / FIVE SILVER DOLLARS PAYABLE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND. / WASHINGTON, D.C. / E80953807 / FIVE / SERIES OF 1899. / ACT OF AUG. 4, 1886.
Reverse Image: Ornamental designs and flourishes.
Reverse Text: SILVER CERTIFICATE / UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / 5 / FIVE DOLLARS / V / THIS CERTIFICATE IS RECEIVABLE FOR CUSTOMS, TAXES AND ALL PUBLIC DUES, AND WHEN SO RECEIVED MAY BE REISSUED.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1899
depicted
Running Antelope
maker
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.78.5.595
accession number
1978.0941
serial number
E80953807

10 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1864

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Feb. 17, 1864
date made
1864
ID Number
1998.0063.0148
serial number
87670
accession number
1998.0063
catalog number
1998.0063.0148

5 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1861

Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA).
Description
Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA). As a fledgling nation, the Confederacy faced two obstacles: to create a sense of national unity and to arm its troops to wage a modern war. Money connected both issues—it would celebrate the new nation and finance the war. On March 9, 1861, the CSA authorized a national currency.
Between 1861 and 1865, the new government issued Confederate currency on eight separate occasions. Each issuance pumped millions of dollars into circulation. Counterfeiters added to the deluge with freshly made fakes. The result was a staggering amount of paper money and massive inflation. The CSA responded to the problem by recalling, cancelling, and burning old notes to remove them from circulation. The first official recall on February 17th, 1864, came after two years of less harsh—but unsuccessful—efforts to reduce the volume of currency in circulation.
The problem of what to do with all of the recalled money fell to the Confederate Treasury Department, which enlisted the help of banks and depositories. Historian and numismatist Douglas Ball identified three primary strategies used to cancel currency. Machine-powered circular punches were preferred by the Treasury, while banks canceled currency by striking it with bank hammers, which left two x-shaped slices on the note. Depositories also used bank hammers, but sometimes opted to cut the notes with scissors, leaving two small triangles along the bottom edge.
Once cancelled, all notes were sent to the Confederate Treasury in Richmond, Virginia, to be burned. Some notes escaped destruction. At war’s end, the Union Army confiscated the notes along with Confederate government records to investigate a possible connection between the Confederacy and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
Today, researchers examine Confederate Currency seeking clues about the economic, social, and technological underpinnings of the South during the Civil War. Smithsonian curator and historian Richard Doty has discovered physical evidence of some of the extraordinary measures people undertook to keep their money in circulation. Stitches, postage stamps, pieces of newsprint, and even fragments of love letters were used to reinforce torn notes.
The careful repair of Confederate currency was done for reasons that had nothing to do with simple economics. Money has always been seen as an emblem of sovereignty. So if people simply allowed their money to disintegrate –and some must have been tempted in that direction, as the value of their money had shrunk almost to the vanishing point by the final months of the war– what did that say about their belief in the Cause?
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1861
maker
Keatinge & Ball
ID Number
1998.0063.0201
accession number
1998.0063
catalog number
1998.0063.0201
serial number
24224

10 Dollars, New Hampshire, Hillsborough Bank, 1806

The Hillsborough Bank of Amherst in New Hampshire issued this ten dollar note on November 18, 1806. The left side of the note reads “Potius Cohibere Quam Punire, New Hampshire, Quid Leges Sine Moribus” (Rather than inflict punishment, restrain. What is law without morals?).
Description
The Hillsborough Bank of Amherst in New Hampshire issued this ten dollar note on November 18, 1806. The left side of the note reads “Potius Cohibere Quam Punire, New Hampshire, Quid Leges Sine Moribus” (Rather than inflict punishment, restrain. What is law without morals?). The note reads “The President, Directors, & Company of the Hillsborough Bank promise to pay [Name] or bearer on demand, Ten Dollars, Amherst, November 18, 1806.” The note is signed by the bank’s cashier, Dave Holmes, and the bank’s president, Samuel Bell. The Hillsborough Bank was founded on June 18, 1806, and capitalized with 50,000 dollars. The notes were printed using Jacob Perkins’s “Permanent Stereotype Steel Plate” that prevented forgery. The bank only lasted three years, as it extended its currency beyond its reserves, and the Embargo Act of 1807 stymied New England’s trade. When note holders came to collect their specie, the bank could not fulfill its obligations and was forced to shut down.
From 1790 to 1863, states and private banks issued their own currency to supply capital in a young nation without a national currency. This currency was backed by the hard money the banks had on deposit, and was only used locally where the bank and its operators were trusted in the community. However, banks often oversupplied notes, and this overextension caused bankruptcy among private and state banks when financial panic struck, particularly in 1837. Currencies from these failed banks are known as “obsolete bank notes” or “broken bank notes,” and several are held in the National Numismatics Collection.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1806
ID Number
2008.0108.0035
accession number
2008.0108
serial number
1064
catalog number
2008.0108.0035

100 Dollars, Virginia, Confederate States of America, 1862

One (1) 100 dollar noteVirginia, Confederate States of America, 1862Obverse Image: Confederate soldiers at left. In center, Lucy Holcombe Pickens facing right. At right, a portrait of George W. Randolph.Obverse Text: C / 100 / RICHMOND, DECR. 2ND, 1862 / NO.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 100 dollar note
Virginia, Confederate States of America, 1862
Obverse Image: Confederate soldiers at left. In center, Lucy Holcombe Pickens facing right. At right, a portrait of George W. Randolph.
Obverse Text: C / 100 / RICHMOND, DECR. 2ND, 1862 / NO. 117381 / THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS / A / FOR REGISTER / FOR TREASURER / KEATINGE & BALL, COLUMBIA, S.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1862
maker
Keatinge & Ball
ID Number
NU.73.11.0115
accession number
305034
catalog number
73.11.0115
serial number
117381

10,000,000 Bilpengo

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
ID Number
2008.0108.0016A
accession number
2008.0108

90 Dollars, South Carolina, 1779

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date on object
1779-02-08
date made
1779
maker
Coram, Thomas
ID Number
NU.79.112.CC197
accession number
1979.1263
serial number
8039
collector/donor number
CC197
catalog number
79.112.CC197

2/3 Dollar, Continental Congress, 1776

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

10 Dollars, Legal Tender Note, United States, 1863

One (1) 10 dollar noteUnited States, 1863Obverse Image: Bust of Abraham Lincoln at the left. Eagle with a shield in center. Allegorical representation of Art at right.Obverse Text: AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK / WASHINGTON / NO. 33570 / B / 50 NEW SERIES / ACT OF MARCH 3D.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar note
United States, 1863
Obverse Image: Bust of Abraham Lincoln at the left. Eagle with a shield in center. Allegorical representation of Art at right.
Obverse Text: AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK / WASHINGTON / NO. 33570 / B / 50 NEW SERIES / ACT OF MARCH 3D. 1863. / MARCH 10TH 1863 / THE UNITED STATES PROMISE TO PAY TO THE BEARER TEN DOLLARS / PATENTED APRIL 1863. / REGISTER OF THE TREASURY / TREASURER OF THE UNITED STATES / PAYABLE AT THE TREASURY OF THE U.S. AT NEW YORK / THESAUR / AMER / SEPTENT / SIGIL / X / 10 / E PLURIBUS UNUM
Reverse Image: Ornate designs.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / THIS NOTE IS A LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, EXCEPT DUTIES ON IMPORTS AND INTEREST ON THE PUBLIC DEBT, AND IS RECEIVABLE IN PAYMENT OF ALL LOANS MADE TO THE UNITED STATES
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1863
depicted
Lincoln, Abraham
maker
American Bank Note Company
ID Number
NU.78.5.094
serial number
33570
catalog number
78.5.094
accession number
1978.0941

10 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1861

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Feb. 17, 1864
date made
1864
ID Number
1998.0063.0145
serial number
77441
accession number
1998.0063
catalog number
1998.0063.0145

2 Dollars, Corn Exchange Bank, Nebraska, United States, 1860

One (1) 2 dollar noteNebraska, United States, 1860Obverse Image: At left, Ceres with sickle and harvest. In center, children with family, horse and dog. Woman at lower right.Obverse Text: 2 / TWO / NO. 1272 / A / THE CORN EXCHANGE BANK WILL PAY TWO DOLLARS TO BEARER ON DEMAND.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 2 dollar note
Nebraska, United States, 1860
Obverse Image: At left, Ceres with sickle and harvest. In center, children with family, horse and dog. Woman at lower right.
Obverse Text: 2 / TWO / NO. 1272 / A / THE CORN EXCHANGE BANK WILL PAY TWO DOLLARS TO BEARER ON DEMAND. / DE SOTO, NEBRASKA. / DEC 12TH, 1860. / NATIONAL BANK NOTE COMPANY
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860
maker
National Bank Note Company
ID Number
NU.NU64535
serial number
1272
accession number
238471
catalog number
NU64535

Duncan Hines Signet Club Credit Card -- Expires March 31, 1956

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1956
ID Number
NU.72.66.114
accession number
301409
catalog number
72.66.114
serial number
-154

2 Shillings and 6 Pence, Connecticut, 1776

One can't be too careful. This Connecticut note was falling apart when someone backed it with part of a contemporary newspaper, full of news about the war between England and France in the Caribbean. But simple glue would not suffice to mend the note.
Description
One can't be too careful. This Connecticut note was falling apart when someone backed it with part of a contemporary newspaper, full of news about the war between England and France in the Caribbean. But simple glue would not suffice to mend the note. Someone carefully stitched the note again and again, covering it with an irregular but very strong reinforcement.
And it worked. The bill was later canceled and retired by means of a cut from the center to the bottom margin, and it still held together-as did the dreams of the patriots who created and kept it in circulation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1776
date on object
1776-06-07
maker
Connecticut
Green, Timothy II
ID Number
NU.71.122.1117
catalog number
71.122.1117
accession number
297844
serial number
6236

5 Dollars, Federal Reserve Note, United States, 1928

One (1) 5 dollar noteUnited States, 1928Obverse Image: Portrait of Abraham Lincoln.Obverse Text: 5 / FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND FIVE DOLLARS / SERIES OF 1928 / REDEEMABLE IN GOLD ON DEMAND AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar note
United States, 1928
Obverse Image: Portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
Obverse Text: 5 / FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND FIVE DOLLARS / SERIES OF 1928 / REDEEMABLE IN GOLD ON DEMAND AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR IN GOLD OR LAWFUL MONEY AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK / FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF KANSAS CITY MISSOURI / J04822471A / A 6 / 10 / WASHINGTON, D.C. / TREASURER OF THE UNITED STATES / SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY / LINCOLN
Reverse Image: Lincoln Memorial.
Reverse Text: 5 / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / FIVE DOLLARS / LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928
depicted
Lincoln, Abraham
maker
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.78.5.709
accession number
1978.0941
catalog number
78.5.709
serial number
J04822471A

10 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1863

Postage stamps must have seemed heaven-sent to the would-be restorer of Confederate money-they came with their own glue! But there was a problem.
Description
Postage stamps must have seemed heaven-sent to the would-be restorer of Confederate money-they came with their own glue! But there was a problem. Stamps were meant to move the mails and therefore had a small but definite value as useful objects.
The Confederacy got around part of the problem during the first summer of the war. Prior to that time, "provisional" postal issues had been produced by a range of cities and towns. But now the government at Richmond was able to issue official Confederate stamps. That put the provisionals out of business, and it also meant that Yankee postage stamps (which had sometimes continued in use in the absence of anything else) could be declared null and void for postage.
They still came in handy for reinforcing money. That's what the blue Federal stamp is doing on the back of this note. The green one is a Confederate issue. One can conjecture that it was either damaged and rendered unfit for postage or had become virtually worthless as inflation worsened later in the war.
But glue was glue. The old stamp got a new use, and the bill it strengthened a new lease on life. Someone added a straight pin, taking no chances. The gentleman at lower right is R. M. T. Hunter, sometime senator and secretary of state. The note was called in and canceled later in the war, which explains the hole.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1863
engraver
Keatinge & Ball
ID Number
1998.0063.0046
catalog number
1998.0063.0046
accession number
1998.0063
serial number
2728

5 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1862

Like the fledgling United States during the American Revolution, the Confederacy struggled to keep its money in existence during the American Civil War, 1861-1865. Coinage had never been all that plentiful in the states that now made up the Southern Confederacy.
Description
Like the fledgling United States during the American Revolution, the Confederacy struggled to keep its money in existence during the American Civil War, 1861-1865. Coinage had never been all that plentiful in the states that now made up the Southern Confederacy. It was a debtor area, with coinage flowing out for purchase of manufactured goods about as quickly as it flowed in from the sale of agricultural ones.
And just as during the Revolution, a new nation lacking precious metals must issue paper money to support a war. The Confederacy was even more dependent on paper currency than had been an earlier generation of patriots. During the 85 years between 1776 and 1861, the proportion of people tied to a monetary economy had grown, even in the agricultural South.
There, a bewildering variety of authorities now began to issue currency-the new central government, the Confederate States of America; the individual states; cities and towns; private banks both old and new; and even private citizens.
This object tells us something about popular attitudes of the day. As with Continental and state notes in the 1770s, there was an almost superstitious aversion to allowing Confederate notes to fall to pieces. So they would be sewn together, or more frequently glued back together, reinforced with any stray bits of paper deemed fit for the job. This five-dollar bill was reinforced with part of a low-value (ten-cent) note from Mississippi. Specialists call this sort of minor currency "scrip," and it played an essential role on the lower end of the monetary scale during the early and middle phases of the war.
By the way, that's Confederate Treasury Secretary C. G. Memminger peeking out from behind the fold at lower-right.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1862
date made
gre 1862
engraver
Keatinge & Ball
ID Number
1998.0063.0043
catalog number
1998.0063.0043
accession number
1998.0063
serial number
157353

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