National Numismatic Collection - Online Exhibitions
Where Money and History Meet
Learn more about the National Numismatic Collection (NNC) through online exhibitions about topics such as: Byzantium; the coinage of Spain; he Double Eagle; life in Ancient Greece; the Coins of the Demareteion Master; outstanding U.S. rarities; Russian coins and medals; Native Americans, women, and African–Americans on early United States bank notes; and the evolution of American money.
Legendary Coins & Currency
This exhibition explores rare and historically significant artifacts from the National Numismatic Collection—more than half of which have never been on view, or not for many years. Coins, bills, medals, and captivating oddities—such as pattern designs, fake coins, and homemade clam shell money from the Great Depression—are on display.
"National Numismatic Collection - Online Exhibitions" showing 9 items.
United States, 20 Dollars, 1908 (Matte Proof)
- Description
- In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt asked sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to lead an effort to redesign American coinage. Saint-Gaudens developed a design that many consider the most beautiful American coin ever conceived. The Mint's Chief Engraver, Charles E. Barber, opposed the project, but ultimately developed a low-relief version of the Saint-Gaudens design that became the standard American $20 coin.
- Barber was not averse to experimentation. He simply believed it had to be kept within fairly close bounds, and under the Mint's control. It would also help if there was profit involved. Instead of experimenting with relief, Barber tried modifying the finish of the Saint-Gaudens coin design. In one test, a "Roman Gold" finish was devised, imparting a glowing, golden surface to coins that would otherwise have a slight reddish sheen about them, from the copper added to the mixture to make the coins wear better.
- No records of how this special finish was applied have survived; but a good guess would be that a light layer of pure gold dust was applied to both surfaces of the coin blank before striking. The force of the press would bond the dust to the blank as the blank was coined. In another test that yielded the coin shown here, Barber developed a "Matte" finish. In this case, the coin was likely struck first (more than once, in order to fully bring up what relief there was), and then "pickled," or etched in dilute acid.
- The result was a coin of a vaguely medallic appearance, without all the work entailed in multiple striking. In addition to testing a concept, this experiment was directed at producing a few specialized coins that could be sold to collectors at inflated prices.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1908
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- maker
- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
- ID Number
- 1985.0441.1285
- catalog number
- 1985.0441.1285
- accession number
- 1985.0441
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, Copper Cent, Pattern, 1792
- Description
- United States Mint, Philadelphia. Obverse: Head of Liberty facing right, unbound hair; date below. Reverse: Value within wreath, fraction (1/100) below. The silver center cent pattern was an attempt to create a cent worth its stated denomination, while doing away with a large, heavy copper coin. The silver plug was inserted to raise the intrinsic value.
- Henry Voigt cut the dies. About a dozen of these coins are known to have been produced. The experiment was abandoned, probably due to the difficulty of manufacture. [reference no. Judd 1]
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1792
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- ID Number
- 1981.1022.0001
- catalog number
- 81.55.1
- accession number
- 1981.1022
- catalog number
- 1981.1022.0001
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, Twenty-Five Cents, Pattern, 1792
- Description
- United States Mint, Philadelphia. Obverse: Head of Liberty facing right, hair bound, date below. Reverse: Eagle standing on globe, head turned back. It is very likely that this was a pattern intended for consideration as a quarter dollar, although some have seen it as an idea for a half eagle. The latter is unlikely, but the size is about right for the ten-dollar piece, or eagle. Joseph Wright designed this pattern. Two specimens are known in copper including this one and two more in white metal.
- [reference no. Judd 12]
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1792
- obverse designer
- Droz, J. P.
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- reverse designer
- Droz, J. P.
- ID Number
- 1991.0357.0121
- accession number
- 1991.0357
- catalog number
- 1991.0357.0121
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Copper Pattern Dollar, 1794
- Description
- Once a new national government had been established under a new Constitution, attention naturally turned to ways of proclaiming national identity. A new, national coinage was one way of doing so, especially if it featured patriotic new images, rather than the endless sequence of crowned monarchs and coats of arms adorning the coinage of Old Europe.
- A U. S Mint Act was passed in 1792, and work was quickly underway. Designs were chosen-a depiction of Liberty for obverses, an eagle, or the value within a wreath, for reverses. The first of the new coins, copper cents and half cents, appeared early the following year. By 1794, mint designers were working to create a silver dollar, the flagship of the new denominations. But they first made a trial piece, in copper.
- Robert Scot created the dies for this design, a Liberty head with flowing hair for the dollar's obverse; an eagle within a simple wreath for the reverse. The new dies to be used in producing silver dollars were tested with a striking in copper. Copper would took a good impression, and would allow Scot and his associates to see whether the dies were cut deeply enough and would therefore be capable of producing the detail wanted on the final silver product.
- Only one piece, this coin, was struck in copper, and it is a unique national treasure.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1794
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- designer
- Scot, Robert
- ID Number
- 1987.0910.0001
- accession number
- 1987.0910
- catalog number
- 1987.0910.0001
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, 2 1/2 Dollars, 1848
- Description
- In 1848, the largest single gold rush in history was just getting under way in California. This event triggered a mass migration of fortune hunters from around the world. The territory had only recently passed into American hands as an outcome of U.S. victory in the Mexican War. The new California military governor Col. R. B. Mason sent 230 ounces of native bullion to the Secretary of War, who in turn passed the gold on to the Mint.
- Much of this first shipment went into large, honorific medals Congress authorized for the winning American generals in the war, Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. Scott's medal is in the Smithsonian Collection. The rest of the gold was used to make "quarter eagles," or 2½ dollar gold pieces. These became some of the most legendary coins in American numismatic history.
- The basic design was standard: the head of Liberty was on one side, a somewhat bellicose eagle on the other. The mint had been striking quarter eagles with these designs for nearly a decade. But closer scrutiny showed that these coins had one odd feature: above the eagle on the reverse, the initials "CAL." These were added by means of a punch.
- Precisely 1,389 quarter eagles marked with the CAL stamp were made. Less than 200 still exist. They bear poignant witness to the colorful history of the American West.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1848
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- ID Number
- NU*283645.0185
- catalog number
- 283645.0185
- 68.159.0072
- accession number
- 283645
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, Four Dollars, Pattern, 1879
- Description
- United States Mint, Philadelphia. Obverse: Liberty head with coiled hair, facing left; fineness around, date below. Reverse: Large star, denomination below. This pattern rates a Rarity-6 by experts, suggesting that two dozen or so may exist. [reference no. Judd 1638]
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1879
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- designer
- Morgan, George T.
- ID Number
- NU*283645.1022
- catalog number
- 283645.1022
- accession number
- 283645
- catalog number
- 68.159.0149
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United States, 5 Cents, 1913
- Description
- Some rarities are accidental, like the 1927 Denver double eagle. Others are contrived, beginning their lives as scams. The 1913 Liberty head five-cent piece, or nickel, falls into this category. Were it not for that date, even an advanced collector would hardly give it a second thought. But the date is different, and a very clever set of circumstances ensured that the coins bearing it became memorable, twentieth-century legends.
- The first Liberty head nickels were struck in 1883, their designer the prolific if uninspired Charles E. Barber. Millions were made over the next three decades. The design was to be retired at the end of 1912, and that is when things began to become interesting. Despite orders to the contrary, five new Liberty head nickels were struck clandestinely, presumably at the beginning of 1913.
- Spirited out of the Mint, they came into the possession of one Samuel W. Brown, of North Tonawanda, New York. He eventually became the town's mayor, but earlier had served as Storekeeper of the Mint. At the end of 1919, he placed an advertisement in the Numismatist, offering to pay $500 each for 1913 Liberty head nickels. Later he raised the offer to $600.
- He already had all the coins, so what was he up to? He was making a legend, preparatory to making a profit! He displayed the coins at the following ANA convention (August 1920), finally selling the pieces to a Philadelphia dealer a few years later.
- At this point, San Antonio coin dealer B. Max Mehl entered the picture, also making offers to buy any 1913 Liberty nickels. That did it: everyone from ten-year-old boys to sophisticated collectors began checking their change, hoping to come across another 1913. No one ever did, but the coin's legendary status was assured.
- Date made
- 1913
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- ID Number
- 1977.1199.0001
- catalog number
- 1977.1199.0001
- accession number
- 1977.1199
- catalog number
- 77.49.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1.00 Dollar, Flowing Hair Dollar, 1794
- Description
- The first silver dollars-and the first silver half dollars-were delivered on the same day, October 15, 1794. Chief coiner Henry Voigt was responsible for 5,300 half dollars that day, and they apparently went into commerce as soon as they were released.
- The dollars were another matter. Precisely 1,758 of them were coined on the fifteenth, and they were immediately delivered to Mint Director David Rittenhouse for distribution to dignitaries as souvenirs.
- The VIPs were not impressed with what they saw. The dollars were struck on the largest press the mint possessed, but the machine was originally intended for cents and half dollars. The only way it had proved adequate for striking the copper pattern was by striking the piece twice.
- The impressions it gave with a single blow were weak, a situation not helped by the fact that the obverse die was damaged early on and had to be polished down along one part of its circumference. This resulted in its making an even weaker impression. So the new federal dollar was not a brilliant success. But it was a first-and sometimes that's success enough.
- Precisely 1,758 of these silver dollars, the first ever minted for circulation by the United States, were coined on October 15, 1794. All were immediately delivered to the Mint Director for distribution to dignitaries as souvenirs. The largest press the mint possessed still was not big enough to give a strong impression with a single blow, hence the weak relief on these coins.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1794
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- obverse designer
- Scot, Robert
- reverse designer
- Scot, Robert
- ID Number
- 1979.1263.00334
- accession number
- 1979.1263
- catalog number
- 01510
- 1979.1263.00334
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
$20 Pattern Coin, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
- Description
- United States Mint, Philadelphia. Less than two dozen of these coins were struck. This kind of relief was never intended for a circulating coin, because it took nearly a dozen passes through the press to achieve. We should instead see these marvelous coins as testimony to the human spirit and to human curiosity: just how much relief could you obtain, and how long would it take to create it?
- This ultra high relief twenty has pedigree as well as beauty in its favor. Presdient Theodore Roosevelt gave it to his daughter as a Christmas present in 1907. Augustus Saint-Gaudens had presented it to the president, and it may have been the first piece struck. Roosevelt's daughter donated this coin to the Smithsonian in 1961.
- [reference no. Judd 1778]
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1907
- designer
- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
- mint
- U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
- ID Number
- NU*236191.0001
- catalog number
- NU71628
- accession number
- 236191
- catalog number
- 236191.0002
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center