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) 100,000 dollar noteUnited States, 1934Obverse Image: Portrait of Woodrow Wilson.Obverse Text: 100,000 / THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THERE IS ON DEPOSIT IN THE TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN GOLD PAYABLE TO BEARER ON DEMAND AS AUTHORIZ
Description (Brief)
One (1) 100,000 dollar note
United States, 1934
Obverse Image: Portrait of Woodrow Wilson.
Obverse Text: 100,000 / THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THERE IS ON DEPOSIT IN THE TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN GOLD PAYABLE TO BEARER ON DEMAND AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW / GOLD CERTIFICATE / THIS CERTIFICATE IS LEGAL TENDER IN THE AMOUNT THEREOF IN PAYMENT OF ALL DEBTS AND DUES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE / WASHINGTON, D.C. / SERIES OF 1934 / A00020109A / WILSON
Reverse Image: Decorative border in orange ink. Rays radiating from the center.
Reverse Text: 100,000 / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS
Description
The $100,000 bill is the highest denomination ever issued by the U.S. Federal Government. Printed in 1934, it was not intended for general use, but instead was used as an accounting device between branches of the Federal Reserve. It is illegal for a private individual to own this banknote.
date made
1934
depicted
Wilson, Woodrow
issuing authority
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.78.5.807
accession number
1978.0941
catalog number
78.5.807
serial number
A00020109A
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this souvenir coin in 1930. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this souvenir coin in 1930. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens.
Obverse: Image of a full-sailed frigate on water, and an inset image of a man in Pilgrim garb. The legend reads: : MASSACHUSETTS TERCENTENARY 1630-1930.
Reverse: Image of the Old Powder House tower. The legend reads: TERCENTENARY SOUVENIR/1630-1930/ OLD POWDER HOUSE SOMERVILLE.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1630
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1630
The New Martinsville Glass Manufacturing Company of New Martinsville, West Virginia, issued this one dollar promissory note on February 13, 1932, guaranteed by the treasurer, John F. Martin, and countersigned by the company’s president, Frank Wells Clark.
Description
The New Martinsville Glass Manufacturing Company of New Martinsville, West Virginia, issued this one dollar promissory note on February 13, 1932, guaranteed by the treasurer, John F. Martin, and countersigned by the company’s president, Frank Wells Clark. The note was redeemable for a cash dollar sixty days after the issuing date, and this note was promptly redeemed on April 12, 1932. This kind of note is commonly known as Depression scrip. As the name would suggest, notes like these were used during the Great Depression when cash was hard to come by and companies may have had trouble paying their debts. When banks were closing and people were hoarding money, local towns and factories issued their own currency or promissory notes to stimulate the local economy.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
ID Number
1979.1263.00003
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
1979.1263.00003
serial number
7115
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1931Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1931
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1931 / D
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Description
As many as three dozen may have survived, a huge number by the standards of the day which saw most gold coins melted. However, few specimens match the Smithsonian's specimen in terms of condition.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1931
mint
U.S. Mint, Denver
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.68.159.0396
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0396
This one dollar check from the First National Bank of Brewster, Washington, was paid to the order of “Prosperity” by Dorwin D. Holland, treasurer of Brewster’s Townsend Test Fund, on January 25, 1937.
Description
This one dollar check from the First National Bank of Brewster, Washington, was paid to the order of “Prosperity” by Dorwin D. Holland, treasurer of Brewster’s Townsend Test Fund, on January 25, 1937. David Silva Sampson was chosen by Brewster’s Townsend Club to spend 200 dollars in checks to test Townsend’s Pension Plan. The check was spent like a dollar note; each merchant would pay a two cent tax to go toward the pension’s kitty. Each time the note was spent, the note was signed on the back by the seller. This note passed through twelve hands before stopping with Nettie Whitinger on February 8, 1937. While Townsend’s plan was never adopted, other tests were funded in Chelan, Washington, and Bergenfield, New Jersey. The tests were not favorable toward Townsend’s plan, as local news reports blamed souvenir seekers for taking the checks out of circulation, ending that note’s chance to be used and taxed.
The United States was in the middle of the Great Depression in the 1930s and many people saw a need for old-age pension plans to help the working elderly retire comfortably, which would then open up new jobs for younger workers. Francis Townsend, a Californian physician, proposed a plan that gave 200 dollars a month to every citizen sixty years and older, believing that would stimulate the economy and jolt America out of the Depression. Under the Townsend Plan, the pensioner must be retired and have a crime-free past in order to receive the money, which must be spent locally during the month it was issued. The pension would be funded by a 2% tax paid by the seller in transactions involving the pension money. While the plan could never fund its promised output, well-organized seniors exerted mounting political pressure for some sort of economic security, prompting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to urge the passing of the Social Security Act in 1935.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937
ID Number
1979.1263.00002
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
1979.1263.00002
serial number
H41
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens. This token was used when the sales tax was less than a cent.
Obverse: Image of the state of Missouri, with “1” in the center. The legend reads: MISSOURI SALES TAX RECEIPT/ 1.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1549
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1549
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens. This token was used when the sales tax was less than a cent. There is a hole in the center of the token.
Obverse: Image of the state of Missouri, with “1” in the center. The legend reads: MISSOURI SALES TAX RECEIPT/ 1.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1550
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1550
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens. This token was used when the sales tax was less than a cent. There is a hole in the center of the token.
Obverse: Image of the state of Missouri. The legend reads: MISSOURI SALES TAX RECEIPT/ 5/ 5.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1551
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1551
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this sales tax token around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens. This token was used when Missouri’s sales tax was less than a cent.
Obverse: Image of the state of Missouri. Legend reads: MISSOURI SALES TAX RECEIPT/ 5/ 5.
Reverse: Image of the state of Missouri. Legend reads: MISSOURI SALES TAX RECEIPT/ 5/ 5.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1542
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1542
One (1) 100 dollar noteUnited States, 1934Obverse Image: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin.Obverse Text: 100 / FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS / G00000001A / 7 / SERIES OF 1934 / THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR AL
Description (Brief)
One (1) 100 dollar note
United States, 1934
Obverse Image: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
Obverse Text: 100 / FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS / G00000001A / 7 / SERIES OF 1934 / THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, AND IS REDEEMABLE IN LAWFUL MONEY AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK. / FRANKLIN / WASHINGTON, D.C. / TREASURER OF THE UNITED STATES / SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY / THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CHICAGO ILLINOIS
Reverse Image: Independence Hall.
Reserve Text: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS / 100 / INDEPENDENCE HALL
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934
depicted
Franklin, Benjamin
maker
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
ID Number
NU.78.5.725
accession number
1978.0941
catalog number
78.5.725
serial number
G00000001A
One (1) 50 cent shell, Restwell CabinsCalifornia, United States, 1933Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: GOOD FOR 50C ON DEMAND AT THE RESTWELL CABINS / 3-8-33/ SCRIP / PISMO BEACH CALI / SIGN OTHER SIDE / IN GOD WE TRUST/ No.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 50 cent shell, Restwell Cabins
California, United States, 1933
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: GOOD FOR 50C ON DEMAND AT THE RESTWELL CABINS / 3-8-33/ SCRIP / PISMO BEACH CALI / SIGN OTHER SIDE / IN GOD WE TRUST/ No. 5A
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: SIGN HERE
Description
When the Great Depression and resulting banking crisis hit their community, the residents of the California coastal town of Pismo Beach picked an unusual but logical medium of exchange. The pismo is a species of clam with a very thick shell, then found in large numbers along the California coast and prized as a food.
A town named after clams suggests an adequate supply of their shells. Perhaps with tongue in cheek, the merchants and officials of Pismo Beach (who were often the same people) decided to make the best of a bad situation, and to make the humble pismo shell into an object of trade. This they did. The Chamber of Commerce and no fewer than eleven merchants issued clamshell scrip. Restwell Cabins issued "notes" in three denominations: twenty-five cents, fifty cents, and one dollar.
The larger the amount, the larger the shell. The issue may have been partly intended as a spoof, or for sale to tourists, in the manner of German notgeld around 1920. Redemption would never be a problem because collectors would wish to keep such pieces in their cabinets or trade them with their friends. But it was also intended partly as a real, if unique, circulating medium. The Restwell Cabins issue bore the motto, "IN GOD WE TRUST."
Each piece was numbered, and each piece was signed on the front and on the back. As with the stamp notes of the Midwest, it was necessary to sign each clamshell on the back in order to keep it in circulation. No formal requirements may have existed, but informal pressure certainly would have endorsed the practice.
This specimen is dated March 8, 1933. This was in the middle of Roosevelt's national banking holiday, and it is exactly the time when we might expect to see people take money into their own hands.
date made
1933
maker
Restwell Cabins
ID Number
1979.1263.00472
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
79.112.OC102F
collector/donor number
OC102F
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1939
ID Number
NU.73.172.0146
catalog number
73.172.0146
accession number
319911
In the life of a ship, launching day is one of the most important. Mariners have long believed that a mishap during a vessel’s slide from land to water foretold disaster. If the transition went smoothly, however, it was cause for celebration.
Description
In the life of a ship, launching day is one of the most important. Mariners have long believed that a mishap during a vessel’s slide from land to water foretold disaster. If the transition went smoothly, however, it was cause for celebration. This silver dollar was given to shipwright Archie Green on such an occasion in 1942, after he and his fellow shipyard workers successfully launched a C3 cargo ship in San Francisco.
Launching ceremonies include various rituals, some of which are rooted in maritime traditions. The vessel is officially named on this day, and though not fully completed, it is ready to be moved from the yard into the water, where the final outfitting will be done. The ship is first "christened" by breaking a bottle over the bow, an honor usually performed by a woman associated with the vessel, such as the ship owner’s wife or daughter. As the last of the holding blocks are removed, the ship is released into the water by the launching gang, the crew responsible for ensuring the launch’s success.
Archie Green was born in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1917 and moved to Los Angeles with his parents in 1922. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1939, he began to learn the shipbuilding trade at the San Francisco shipyards. When war broke out, he took part in the U.S. government-sponsored emergency shipbuilding program, which was established to offset the terrible losses of cargo ships by Nazi U-boats.
Drawing from lessons learned during the First World War, shipbuilders developed plans for standardized, prefabricated vessels that could be constructed in any shipyard in the nation. The most famous of these were the Liberty and Victory ships, which transported supplies and troops to Allied positions across the world. A type C3 ship, such as the one associated with this coin, was another design that produced a general-purpose vessel able to carry any cargo, but could also be modified for specific uses. Between 1939 and 1947, 465 of these ships were built in American shipyards.
Archie Green went on to earn a Ph.D. in folklore and devoted his scholarly and teaching career to workers’ culture and occupational traditions. He remained a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America until his death in 2009.
date made
1923
shipwright
Green, Archie
Archie Green's college
University of California, Berkeley
ID Number
1994.0296.01
catalog number
1994.0296.01
accession number
1994.0296
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1931Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1931
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1931 / D
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1931
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Denver
ID Number
1985.0441.1600
catalog number
1985.0441.1600
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1930Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1930
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / S / 1930
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Description
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
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
1985.0441.1587
catalog number
1985.0441.1587
accession number
1985.0441
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1933
ID Number
2008.0108.0025
accession number
2008.0108
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1934
ID Number
2008.0108.0024
accession number
2008.0108
When the nation's banks closed during the Depression, Leiter's Pharmacy in Pismo Beach, California, issued this clamshell as change.The 1929 stock market crash triggered banking panics, as people rushed to withdraw their savings before they were lost.
Description
When the nation's banks closed during the Depression, Leiter's Pharmacy in Pismo Beach, California, issued this clamshell as change.
The 1929 stock market crash triggered banking panics, as people rushed to withdraw their savings before they were lost. In March 1933, President Roosevelt ordered a four-day bank holiday to prevent further withdrawals. To compensate for the currency shortage, communities created emergency money, or scrip. This clamshell was signed as it changed hands and redeemed when cash became available again.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1933
used date
1933
referenced
Leiter's Pharmacy
ID Number
1979.1263.00467
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
79.112.OC102A
When the Depression and resulting banking crisis hit their community, the residents of the coastal town of Pismo Beach, California picked an unusual but logical medium of exchange.
Description
When the Depression and resulting banking crisis hit their community, the residents of the coastal town of Pismo Beach, California picked an unusual but logical medium of exchange. The pismo is a species of clam with a very thick shell, then found in large numbers along the California coast and prized as a food.
A town named after the bivalves suggests an adequate supply of their shells. Perhaps with tongue in cheek, the merchants and officials of Pismo Beach (who were often the same people) decided to make the best of a bad situation, and to make the humble clam shell into an object of trade. This they did. The Chamber of Commerce and no fewer than eleven merchants issued clamshell scrip.
Each piece was numbered, and each piece was signed on the front and on the back. As with the stamp notes of the Midwest, it was necessary to sign each clamshell on the back in order to keep it in circulation. No formal requirements may have existed, but informal pressure certainly would have endorsed the practice.
Restwell Cabins issued "notes" in three denominations: twenty-five cents, fifty cents, and one dollar. The larger the amount, the larger the shell. The issue may have been partly intended as a spoof, or for sale to tourists, in the manner of German notgeld around 1920. Redemption would never be a problem because collectors would want to keep these pieces in their cabinets or trade them with their friends.
But it was also intended partly as a real, if unique, circulating medium. The Restwell Cabins issue bore the motto, "IN GOD WE TRUST." Each piece was numbered, and each was signed on the front and on the back. This specimen is dated March 8, 1933. This was in the middle of Roosevelt's national banking holiday, and it is exactly the time when we might expect to see people take money into their own hands.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
date on object
1933-03-08
maker
Restwell Cabins
ID Number
1979.1263.00468
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
79.112.OC102B
collector/donor number
OC102
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1931Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1931
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1931
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1931
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
1985.0441.1599
catalog number
1985.0441.1599
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1932Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1932
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1932
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Description
About two dozen coins have survived from the 1932 double eagle mintage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
1985.0441.1610
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.1610
Production of gold coinage was halted early in 1933. All double eagles struck that years were not to be released to the public, but melted down and conveyed as bullion to Fort Knox.
Description
Production of gold coinage was halted early in 1933. All double eagles struck that years were not to be released to the public, but melted down and conveyed as bullion to Fort Knox. But all of the coins were not melted down: as seems inevitable under these circumstances, a handful was spirited away, kept in hiding for decades. One coin surfaced recently, and a complicated arrangement resulted in its being sold at auction for millions of dollars.
The two coins seen here are the only other 1933 double eagles legally held. They were transferred from the U.S. Mint to the Smithsonian Institution.
date made
1933
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.39166.0002
catalog number
39166.0002
accession number
130752
United States Mint, Philadelphia. Production of gold coinage was halted early in 1933 as the United States continued to move away from the gold standard. All double eagles struck in 1933 were not issued or authorized to be released to the public.
Description
United States Mint, Philadelphia. Production of gold coinage was halted early in 1933 as the United States continued to move away from the gold standard. All double eagles struck in 1933 were not issued or authorized to be released to the public. Instead, they were supposed to be melted down and conveyed as bullion to Fort Knox. But all of the coins were not melted down. A handful were spirited away and kept in hiding for decades. One double eagle dated 1933 surfaced recently, and a complicated arrangement monetized it so that it could be sold at auction for millions of dollars.
This coin and another 1933 double eagle transferred from the U.S. Mint to the Smithsonian were the only legally owned with that date until recently.
The 1933 double eagle marks the end of the era in which the U.S. Congress authorized circulating gold coinage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.39166.0001
accession number
130752
catalog number
39166.0001
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1931Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1931
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1931
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Description
Perhaps twenty double eagles from this year produced at Philadelphia survived. This is one of the survivors.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1931
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.68.159.0395
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0395

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