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.

One (1) 50 dollar coinUnited States, 1851Obverse Image: Eagle standing on a rock, holding a shield, with a ribbon in its beak.Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / AUGUSTUS HUMBERT UNITED STATES ASSAYER OF GOLD CALIFORNIA / 1851 / 887 THOUS / FIFTY DOLLSReverse Image: Engine-t
Description (Brief)
One (1) 50 dollar coin
United States, 1851
Obverse Image: Eagle standing on a rock, holding a shield, with a ribbon in its beak.
Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / AUGUSTUS HUMBERT UNITED STATES ASSAYER OF GOLD CALIFORNIA / 1851 / 887 THOUS / FIFTY DOLLS
Reverse Image: Engine-turned design.
Reverse Text: N/A
Description
As early as 1850, agitation began in Congress for the establishment of a San Francisco branch of the United States Mint. This action was blocked by people from New York-who wanted a branch in their own state-and from Georgia and Louisiana-who argued that any California operation would represent unfair competition to the branch mints in Dahlonega and New Orleans.
The opposition won, and San Francisco would go without a mint for another four years. But it did get an odd sort of hybrid, the United States Assay Office of Gold, striking an odd sort of money-a gigantic, fifty-dollar ingot that would also do duty as a coin. The arrangement was made by the Treasury Department under a contract with Moffat & Company, private assayers and gold coiners in San Francisco.
Augustus Humbert came west to oversee the operation, which got under way at the end of January 1851. For most of the next two years, Humbert's fifty-dollar "slugs" were the principal accepted currency in California. He was eventually allowed to turn his attentions to the production of smaller, and altogether more useful, coins, ten- and twenty-dollar pieces. And his operation finally laid the framework for a formal, normal branch Mint, which began the production of ordinary federal coinage in the spring of 1854.
date made
1851
mint
United States Assay Office of Gold
ID Number
NU.68.159.1142
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1142
This fifty dollar octagonal gold coin—also known as a “slug”—was produced in 1851 in San Francisco.
Description
This fifty dollar octagonal gold coin—also known as a “slug”—was produced in 1851 in San Francisco. After the California gold rush began in 1849, it became apparent that a mint should be established on the West Coast to remove the need to ship the gold back to Philadelphia to be minted. Prior to Congress approving the San Francisco mint in 1852, California’s delegates passed a bill in 1850 establishing the U.S. Assay Office to assay (weigh and test purity of) gold and mint coins in San Francisco. Augustus Humbert was appointed to serve as the U.S. Assayer in San Francisco. He brought dies engraved by Charles C. Wright to produce coins made by Moffat & Company. On the obverse, or front, of the coin is a spread-winged eagle on the U.S. shield resting upon a rock; in its claws are an olive branch and arrows. Above the eagle is a cartouche containing the coin’s degree of fineness, in this case 887 thousandths. Within the circle is the text “United States of America/FIFTY DOLLS.” Around the edge are the words “Augustus Humbert United States Assayer of Gold California 1851.” On the reverse is a spiral pattern created by and known as “engine turning.”
date made
1851
mint
United States Assay Office of Gold
maker
Humbert, Augustus
ID Number
NU.68.159.1192
catalog number
68.159.1192
accession number
283645
One (1) 20 dollar coin, proofUnited States, 1853Obverse Image: Eagle with shield, arrows, and branch; ribbon in beak.Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY D. / 900 THOUS.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin, proof
United States, 1853
Obverse Image: Eagle with shield, arrows, and branch; ribbon in beak.
Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY D. / 900 THOUS. / LIBERTY
Reverse Image: Engine-turning design.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE OF GOLD / SAN FRANCISCO / CALIFORNIA. 1853.
Description
This was the final production of the provisional United States operation in San Francisco. A formal branch U.S. Mint was set up soon and began operations in the spring of 1854. A few proof strikes of the 1853 double eagle are known, including this coin.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1853
mint
United States Assay Office of Gold
ID Number
1985.0551.0720
catalog number
1985.0551.0720
accession number
1985.0551
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850
maker
Baldwin & Company
Baldwin & Company
ID Number
1985.0441.2198
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.2198
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States , n.d.Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: GAMES OF CHANCE / CAL.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States , n.d.
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: GAMES OF CHANCE / CAL. / COIN / GOLD / TWENTY DOLLARS
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: DIANA / CLAY / TO / COMMERCIAL / STREETS / DRINKS / SAN FRANCISCO CAL.
Description
This piece is likely to be a modern fantasy from the mid-twentieth century. Fantasy pieces can take advantage of an intense enthusiasm for material related to the old West, the California Gold Rush, and the pioneer spirit in search of the American Dream.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
NU.68.159.1125
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1125
National bank note proof from the Columbia National Bank of Washington DC, $10-10-10-20. Charter number 3625. The $10 note features the image of Ben Franklin flying a kite on the left and an image of an eagle and Liberty grasping a lightning bolt on the right.
Description
National bank note proof from the Columbia National Bank of Washington DC, $10-10-10-20. Charter number 3625. The $10 note features the image of Ben Franklin flying a kite on the left and an image of an eagle and Liberty grasping a lightning bolt on the right. The $20 note features an image of the Battle of Lexington on the left and Liberty marching with a flag on the right. The bank was chartered on January 1, 1887. There are thirty-two large size notes and thirty-nine small size notes issued after 1929 known among collectors for this bank.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
1896
1893
1891
1872
1920
ID Number
NNC.297219.00543
accession number
297219
catalog number
NU*297219.00543
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1868Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1868Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1868
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1868
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 / S
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.68.159.0975
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0975
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1885Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1885Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1885
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1885
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
1885
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.255927.0704
accession number
255927
catalog number
NU85796.02
This ten dollar gold coin was minted by the Miners Bank of San Francisco in 1849.
Description
This ten dollar gold coin was minted by the Miners Bank of San Francisco in 1849. James Marshall’s 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill kicked off the California gold rush and changed the wealth and reach of the nation, as suddenly gold was in abundant supply and the population was shifting westward. With the plentiful gold, private companies sprang up to supply coinage for the growing population and burgeoning economy. One such company was the Miners Bank, founded in 1849. The bank issued both coins and notes, but when the coins were assayed at only .866 fineness they soon fell into disfavor and could only be redeemed at a 20% discount. Many of the coins were melted down and remade into official U.S. slugs. On the obverse, or front, is an eagle with spread wings and a breast shield, with 13 stars and “California” also printed above. On the reverse is printed “Miners, Bank” at the top and “Ten. D.” in the center, with “San Francisco” below and two stars in the center.
date made
1849
maker
Miners' Bank
ID Number
NU.68.159.1159
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1159
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1862Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1862Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1862
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1862
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 / S
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1862
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
1985.0441.0617
catalog number
1985.0441.0617
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 50 dollar coin, Panama-Pacific International ExpositionUnited States, 1915Obverse Image: Bust of Minerva/Athena facing left.Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / FIFTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST / MCMXVReverse Image: Owl perched on pinecones.Reverse Text: PANAMA-PACIFIC
Description (Brief)
One (1) 50 dollar coin, Panama-Pacific International Exposition
United States, 1915
Obverse Image: Bust of Minerva/Athena facing left.
Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / FIFTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST / MCMXV
Reverse Image: Owl perched on pinecones.
Reverse Text: PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION / SAN FRANCISCO / E PLURIBUS UNUM
Description
Designed by Robert Aitken, the round and octagonal coins were part of an elaborate attempt to raise money for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. That celebration was held in San Francisco between February and December, 1915. In turn, the exposition was intended to commemorate the completion and opening of the Panama Canal in the previous year. Dolphins were friendly companions of the vessels making the trip from one ocean to another, via the new Isthmian waterway.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1915
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
designer
Aitken, Robert
ID Number
1985.0551.0777
catalog number
1985.0551.0777
accession number
1985.0551
In 1904, California-born Amadeo Giannini, son of Italian emigrants from near Genoa, opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. The bank loaned money to immigrants and established its reputation in rebuilding San Francisco after the earthquake of 1906.
Description
In 1904, California-born Amadeo Giannini, son of Italian emigrants from near Genoa, opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. The bank loaned money to immigrants and established its reputation in rebuilding San Francisco after the earthquake of 1906. All the loans during that effort were repaid according to Giannini.
In 2004, the institution celebrated its centennial in Rome as the Bank of America. It is one of the largest corporations in the world. It is also the foremost issuer of credit cards after its merger with MBNA, as well as the foremost lender to small businesses in the United States.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
NNC.297219.00535
accession number
297219
catalog number
NNC*297219.00535
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1881Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1881Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1881
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1881
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
1881
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.68.159.1003
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1003
Probably produced by the Massachusetts & California Company's mint in Northampton, Massachusetts. Obverse: Shield with vaquero (cowboy) throwing lasso, bear and stag supporters. Reverse: Denomination within wreath, date below.
Description
Probably produced by the Massachusetts & California Company's mint in Northampton, Massachusetts. Obverse: Shield with vaquero (cowboy) throwing lasso, bear and stag supporters. Reverse: Denomination within wreath, date below. The Massachusetts & California Company shipped coining equipment to California in the spring of 1849. The shipment was lost, but it appears that a few coins such as this one were produced as samples in Massachusetts, reminders of a project that never came to fruition.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
maker
Massachusetts and California Co.
ID Number
1985.0441.2203
catalog number
1985.0441.2203
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 5 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / CAL. / J.S.OReverse Image: 20 stars around.Reverse Text: 5 DOLLSProduced by J.S.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / CAL. / J.S.O
Reverse Image: 20 stars around.
Reverse Text: 5 DOLLS
Description
Produced by J.S. Ormsby & Company in San Francisco, California.
The Ormsby operation got underway in the autumn of 1849, however the venture was not a success. The coins that were struck were crude and not worth their face value in metal. Most of them were melted down in short order. Two denominations were struck, evidently by means of a sledgehammer. Five ten-dollar pieces are known from this company. This is the only five-dollar piece known.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
maker
J.S. Ormsby
ID Number
1993.0531.0001
accession number
1993.0531
catalog number
1993.0531.0001
This five dollar coin was produced by the Massachusetts and California Company around 1849.
Description
This five dollar coin was produced by the Massachusetts and California Company around 1849. James Marshall’s 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill kicked off the California gold rush and changed the wealth and reach of the nation as gold was suddenly in plentiful supply and the population was shifting westward. As the government lagged behind the gold rush to mint its own coins, private businesses filled the void in the market. The Massachusetts and California Company operated from 1849 until 1854, most likely bringing gold back to Northampton, Massachusetts, to be minted. Contemporary reports note that the five dollar piece was debased with copper, indicative of coins minted in the east. On the obverse, or front, of the coin are arms holding a spear; a bear and a stag stand on either side of the shield showing a vaquero throwing a lasso. A scroll with “ALTA” appears below the arms. On the reverse is a laurel wreath tied with bow with twenty stars arrayed around. The coin reads “5 Dollars” in the center. The rim reads “MASSACHUSETTS & CALIFORNIA CO 1849.”
date made
1849
maker
Massachusetts and California Co.
ID Number
NU.68.159.1158
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1158
As early as 1850, agitation began in Congress for the establishment of a San Francisco branch of the United States Mint.
Description
As early as 1850, agitation began in Congress for the establishment of a San Francisco branch of the United States Mint. This action was blocked by people from New York-who wanted a branch in their own state-and from Louisiana and Georgia-who argued that any California operation would represent unfair competition to the branch mints in New Orleans and Dahlonega.
The opposition won, and San Francisco went without a branch mint for another four years. But it did get an odd sort of hybrid, the United States Assay Office of Gold, striking an odd sort of money-a gigantic-fifty-dollar ingot that also did duty as a coin.
In addition to the Assay Office, other California coiners toyed with the idea of striking fifty-dollar gold pieces. One group, headed by J. G. Kellogg and G. F. Richter went so far as to have dies for circular slugs prepared and a dozen or so proofs struck from those dies.
But by the time the project had gone forward that far, the federal branch Mint at San Francisco was finally coming into full production. Soon California private gold coinage, no matter how large or small the denominations, became irrelevant.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855
mint
Kellogg and Company
ID Number
NU.78.73.1
accession number
1978.2507
catalog number
78.73.1
One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1851Obverse Image: Liberty wearing coronet, facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: BALDWIN & CO / 1851Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle.Reverse Text: S.M.V. CALIFORNIA GOLD / TEN D.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1851
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing coronet, facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: BALDWIN & CO / 1851
Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle.
Reverse Text: S.M.V. CALIFORNIA GOLD / TEN D.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1851
maker
Baldwin & Company
ID Number
NU.68.159.1083
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1083
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1902Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1902Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1902
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1902
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
1902
maker
United States Mint
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.255927.1273
catalog number
NU*255927.1273
accession number
255927
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0009.0988
catalog number
1991.0009.0988
accession number
1991.0009
National bank note proof of the Second National Bank of Washington, DC, Charter 2038. $5-5-5-5, 1925. The portrait on the left is Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third President of the United States.
Description
National bank note proof of the Second National Bank of Washington, DC, Charter 2038. $5-5-5-5, 1925. The portrait on the left is Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third President of the United States. His grandfather was also President and his father was a member of the House of Representatives. This bank was chartered on September 3, 1872. There are forty-seven large size notes and thirty-three small size notes issued after 1929 known among collectors for this bank.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
1896
1893
1891
1872
ID Number
NNC.297219.00541
accession number
297219
catalog number
NU*297219.00541
National bank note proof of the American National Bank of Washington, DC, Charter 6716. $5-5-5-5, 1922. The portrait on the left is Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third President of the United States.
Description
National bank note proof of the American National Bank of Washington, DC, Charter 6716. $5-5-5-5, 1922. The portrait on the left is Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third President of the United States. His grandfather was also President and his father was a member of the House of Representatives. This bank was chartered in April, 1903 and closed on October 31, 1922. There are twenty-six large size notes known among collectors for this bank.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
1896
1893
1891
1872
1920
1899
1890
1909
1922
ID Number
NNC.297219.00547
accession number
297219
catalog number
NU*297219.00547
The first gold from the Golden State was alluvial, found in rivers and streams and free of the rocky matrix that had once held it. Larger pieces were called nuggets. Smaller ones were called dust.
Description
The first gold from the Golden State was alluvial, found in rivers and streams and free of the rocky matrix that had once held it. Larger pieces were called nuggets. Smaller ones were called dust. It was this type of river-born metal that gave us one of our most indelible images of the West: a fortune-seeker by a stream, swirling sand and water in a simple pan, looking for the glint of wealth and a golden dream.
Our nugget weighs about a tenth of an ounce. Its deep yellow color suggests the purity of the metal it contains-about 90 percent.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1849
ID Number
1979.1263.01100
catalog number
1979.1263.01100
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
OC 3 B
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1880Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1880Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1880
Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1880
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
1880
designer
Longacre, James Barton
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.68.159.1002
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1002

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.