National Numismatic Collection - Introduction
The National Numismatic Collection (NNC) of the Smithsonian Institution is one of the largest numismatic collections in the world and the largest in North America. With over 1.6 millioin objects, the NNC contains many great rarities in coins and currency, from the earliest coins created 2,700 years ago up to the latest innovations in electronic monetary exchange, as well as fascinating objects such as beads, wampum, dentalia, and other commodities once used as money.
The collection emphasizes the development of money and medals in the United States. The core of the U.S. collection, consisting of more than 18,000 items, including coins of great rarity, came to the Smithsonian in 1923 from the United States Mint. Exceptional rarities include the Brasher half doubloon, the 1849 double eagle (first of the gold 20 dollar pieces), and two 1877 fifty dollar patterns. Other rarities are include the 1913 Liberty head nickel as well as all three types of the 1804 dollar, and two of three known examples of the world's most valuable coin, the 1933 double eagle, the third of which recently sold for 7.6 million dollars. Learn more about the collection.
Below you will find a selection of over 350 objects from the collection. We are working to expand and improve online access to additional objects in the near future, so stay tuned.
"National Numismatic Collection - Introduction" showing 8 items.
United States, Ten Dollars, 1916 S
- Description
- United States Mint, San Francisco. Obverse: Head of Liberty facing left, with feathered headdress; stars above, date below. Reverse: Standing eagle facing left; mottoes in front and behind. The 1916 eagle from San Francisco is a fairly scarce coin in any condition, but one in this condition is an extremely rare coin.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1916
- mint
- U.S. Mint, San Francisco
- ID Number
- 1985.0441.1408
- catalog number
- 1985.0441.1408
- accession number
- 1985.0441
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, 20 Dollars, 1927-S
- Description
- United States Mint, San Francisco. Obverse: Liberty striding towards the viewer, bearing olive branch and torch. Reverse: Eagle in flight above the sun. Over three million double eagles poured out of the San Francisco branch mint in 1927. All but a dozen or so were eventually melted.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1927
- mint
- U.S. Mint, San Francisco
- maker
- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
- ID Number
- 1985.0441.1524
- catalog number
- 1985.0441.1524
- accession number
- 1985.0441
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, Twenty Dollars, 1930 S
- Description
- United States Mint, San Francisco. Obverse: Liberty striding towards the viewer, bearing olive branch and torch. Reverse: Eagle in flight above the sun. Only two dozen of these coins survive. The mintage was small to begin with--only 74,000 pieces--and virtually all of the production run went into the melting pot.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1930
- mint
- U.S. Mint, San Francisco
- ID Number
- 1985.0441.1587
- catalog number
- 1985.0441.1587
- accession number
- 1985.0441
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, Fifty Dollars, Panama-Pacific Exposition Commemorative, 1915 S
- Description
- United States Mint, San Francisco. Obverse: Bust of Liberty as goddess Athena facing left. She wears a crested helmet and carries a shield with the date 1915 in Roman numerals. Reverse: Owl seated on pine bough (the owl was the bird associated with Athena). On the octagonal version, there are eight small dolphins at the eight points of the octagon.
- 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
- ID Number
- 1985.0551.0777
- catalog number
- 1985.0551.0777
- accession number
- 1985.0551
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, 50 Dollars, Panama-Pacific Exposition Commemorative, 1915 (octagonal)
- Description
- United States Mint, San Francisco. Obverse: Bust of Liberty as goddess Athena facing left. She wears a crested helmet and carries a shield with the date 1915 in Roman numerals. Reverse: Owl seated on pine bough (the owl was the bird associated with Athena). On this octagonal version, there are eight small dolphins at the eight points of the octagon. Designed by Robert Aitken, these coins were part of an elaborate attempt to raise money for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, held in San Francisco between February and December 1915. In turn, the exposition was intended to celebrate the completion and opening of the Panama Canal in the previous year. The dolphins were on both sides of this octagonal version because they 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
- maker
- U.S. Mint, San Francisco
- ID Number
- 1979.1263.01162
- catalog number
- 1979.1263.01162
- accession number
- 1979.1263
- catalog number
- 01338
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, Two and a Half Dollars, Panama-Pacific Exposition Commemorative, Proof, 1915 S
- Description
- United States Mint, San Francisco. Obverse: Columbia, seated on a hippocampus, or sea horse. Reverse: Eagle facing left on what appears to be a Roman legionary standard. This and several other commemorative pieces were created at the San Francisco Mint to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal and the exposition held in its honor. This Smithsonian specimen is the only known proof.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1915
- mint
- U.S. Mint, San Francisco
- ID Number
- 1985.0551.0780
- catalog number
- 1985.0551.0780
- accession number
- 1985.0551
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, 20 Dollars, 1854-S
- Description
- The sheer size of the California gold strike altered the nature of American numismatics. It was not only that mintage figures dramatically increased; the actual range of denominations increased as well.
- Prior to 1849, there had been three gold coins: the quarter eagle, half eagle, and eagle (or $2.50, $5.00, and $10.00 coins). By 1854, three more had been added, a dollar, a three-dollar piece, and a double eagle, or twenty-dollar coin.
- Artist James Barton Longacre designed all three of the new coins. The double eagle was the most popular. For its obverse, Longacre employed a simple head of Liberty, wearing a coronet. Stars surrounded the head of the goddess, and the date appeared below. The reverse depicted a somewhat ornate representation of an eagle, a "glory" of stars and rays above, the national motto to either side.
- In 1854, the United States created a new branch mint in San Francisco to deal with the fruits of the gold rush. It was intended to replace a whole galaxy of private California mints that had created a variety of local coins.
- This double eagle was the first coin the new federal mint struck. Below the eagle, each coin from the new branch Mint bore a distinctive small "S." This distinguished the coin from ones struck in Philadelphia, which had no such mark, and ones struck at New Orleans, which had an "O."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1854
- mint
- U.S. Mint, San Francisco
- maker
- Longacre, James Barton
- ID Number
- 1985.0441.0488
- accession number
- 1985.0441
- catalog number
- 1985.0441.0488
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, Ten Dollars, 1930 S
- Description
- United States Mint, San Francisco. Obverse: Head of Liberty facing left, with feathered headdress; stars above, date below. Reverse: Standing eagle facing left. Most of the run was melted. This is one of the finest survivors.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1930
- designer
- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
- mint
- U.S. Mint, San Francisco
- ID Number
- 1985.0441.1588
- accession number
- 1985.0441
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center