Numismatic history of the United States
Encyclopedia
The numismatic history of the United States
began with Colonial
coins and paper money; most notably the foreign but widely accepted Spanish piece of eight , ultimately descended from the Joachimsthaler and the direct ancestor of the U.S. Dollar .
Paper money
would not be printed by the United States
until 1917.
The then-fledgling United States Government under the Washington administration minted the first coins in 1792, the half disme, according to legend minted from Martha Washington
's silverware.
The original coinage of the United States Mint
came in the denominations Half Cent
(1/200 of a dollar), Cent
(1/100 of a dollar, or a cent), Half Dime
(five cents), Dime
(ten cents), Quarter
(25 cents), Half Dollar
(50 cents), Dollar
, Quarter Eagle
($2.50), Half Eagle
($5), and Eagle
($10).
The half cent and cent were made of pure copper
, the half dime, dime, quarter, half, and dollar in 90% silver, and the quarter, half and full eagle in .9167 gold
(later changed to .8992 in 1834, and then 90% gold in 1837). All of the coins featured Miss Liberty
on the front and a bald eagle
on the back.
In the early days, often years went by without a certain denomination being minted.
was the silver coin design minted in the mid to late 19th century
. The first Seated coin was the now-scarce Seated Liberty Dollar
, which debuted in 1836. The seated liberty dime and seated liberty half dime followed the next year in 1837 and the seated liberty quarter and seated liberty half dollar in 1839.
In 1849, in the wake of the California Gold Rush
, the Double Eagle
, or $20 gold denomination was added This coin contains nearly a pure ounce of gold and were minted in large quantities; many still exist today and are used as bullion coins and command only a modest premium over spot price
, though many dates are rare as well. The Liberty Head Double Eagle
was minted up to 1907.
Rising copper prices caused the reduction of the size of the cent. Originally, pennies were large and heavy
. This changed between 1856 and 1857 when they were replaced by the small-sized Flying Eagle cent
, which was made of 88% copper and 12% nickel, and had a somewhat pale brown color. In 1859 this was replaced by the Indian Head cent
, and by 1864, the Civil War
increased nickel and copper prices and the cent was made thinner and the nickel removed; the cent was thus now a small, thin bronze
coin.
The five cent nickel coin was introduced in 1866, and gradually it made the half dime obsolete. To this day, the nickel, though the design has changed, retains the same metallic content it had from its inception.
The second half of the 19th century saw several odd coin denominations. The two cent piece was made from 1864 to 1873, and was the first American coin to display the term In God We Trust
; a result of the increased wartime religiosity during the Civil War
. three cent piece
s made of silver, then copper-nickel were also made around this era. From 1875 to 1878, Twenty cent piece
s were made in the Seated Liberty design. A Three-dollar piece
of gold
was minted from 1854 to 1889.
In 1878 the first Morgan Silver Dollars were minted; this series lasted until 1904 and was revived for several months in 1921.
, also designer of the Morgan dollar, adorn the dime, quarter and half dollar. His Liberty Head nickel
had debuted in 1883, and thus from the years 1892 to 1904, his designs were featured on every denomination from 5 cents up to one dollar. The Barber design would last on dimes and quarters up to 1916, on half dollars up to 1915, and on the nickel up to the extremely rare and famous 1913 Liberty Head nickel
s.
The United States minted paper money, called Federal Reserve Notes, for the first time in 1917. Originally, these were backed by gold, and a note could be, at least in theory, exchanged for gold coin at a bank until 1933 when gold was confiscated from the general public. Silver certificates were exchangeable for silver coin up to the year 1964.
The design of the American One dollar bill has stayed almost the same since 1935, and the other denominations had a similar appearance until their redesign in the late 1990s
.
The Gold Eagle was re-designed in 1907 as the Indian Head eagle
and the $2.50 and $5 pieces followed in 1908. The Liberty Head Double Eagle was replaced with the St. Gaudens Double Eagle
in 1907. The wheat penny was introduced in 1909 and the Buffalo nickel and Mercury dime
were both introduced in the 1910s
(1913 and 1916, respectively).
The Peace Dollar
was minted from 1921 to 1933. After 1933, no more gold coins or silver dollars would be minted by the US Mint until the bullion and commemorative series that began in the 1980s
and continue to the present day.
of 1933 minted in the United States
, paper notes took place of the coin denominations above 50 cents. Up to 1964, dimes, quarters and half dollars were still minted in 90% silver; halves would contain 40% silver from 1965 to 1970.
The new tradition of placing past presidents and Founding Fathers on coins, began with the 1909 Lincoln cent, continued in the 1930s and 1940s, with the introduction of the Washington quarter in 1932, the Jefferson nickel
in 1938, the Roosevelt dime in 1946, and the Franklin half dollar
in 1948. The original Washington quarter design remained unchanged, aside from the removal of silver content and finer details, until 1998, the Jefferson nickel until 2003, and the Roosevelt dime to the present day. The Franklin half was replaced by the John F. Kennedy half dollar in 1964 to commemorate him after his murder.
The last silver coins are dated 1964 , though they were actually minted for several years later dated as 1964. In 1982, the penny had most of its copper content removed, and is now made primarily of zinc
, with a thin copper plating.
The paper money of the United States was re-designed to deter counterfeit
through the late 1990s and early to mid 2000s.
. Up to the mid 1990s American money had changed little since the end of silver coins in the mid 1960s, and some of the denominations, including the paper notes and the nickel, had barely changed since the 1930s.
Beginning in 1996 with the $100 and $50 bills, paper money was redesigned to deter counterfeit. In 1999, the State Quarter program ended the classic design of the Washington quarter. Next came the 2004 nickels, meant to commemorate Lewis and Clark's 200th anniversary. The cent was re-designed in 2009 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln
's 200th birthday.
The dollar coin returned in 1999, in a case very similar to the 1921 Morgan dollar, the Susan B. Anthony dollar
returned in 1999, to fill in until the Sacagawea Dollar
came about in 2000. Concurrent is the Presidential Dollar series.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
began with Colonial
Colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony* Colonial history of the United States, the period of American history from the 17th century to 1776, under the rule of Great Britain, France and Spain...
coins and paper money; most notably the foreign but widely accepted Spanish piece of eight , ultimately descended from the Joachimsthaler and the direct ancestor of the U.S. Dollar .
Paper Money
Paper Money is the second album by the band Montrose. It was released in 1974 and was the band's last album to feature Sammy Hagar as lead vocalist.-History:...
would not be printed by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until 1917.
Early American coinage (1792 - c. 1837)
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
's silverware.
The original coinage of the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
came in the denominations Half Cent
Half cent (United States coin)
First authorized on April 2, 1792 , the half cent coin was produced in the United States from 1793-1857. The half-cent piece was made of 100% copper. It was slightly smaller than a modern U.S. quarter. Diameters are: 22 mm , 23.5 mm and 23 mm ., Coinage was discontinued by the Act...
(1/200 of a dollar), Cent
Cent
Cent may refer to:In currency:*Cent , a one-hundredth subdivision of several units of currency*Cent , a Canadian coin*Cent , the Dutch coin minted between 1941 and 1944*Cent , a European coin...
(1/100 of a dollar, or a cent), Half Dime
Half dime
The half dime, or half disme, was a silver coin, valued at five cents, formerly minted in the United States.Some numismatists consider the denomination to be the first coin minted by the United States Mint under the Coinage Act of 1792, with production beginning on or about July 1792...
(five cents), Dime
Dime
Dime may refer to:Currency* Dime * Dime Media and entertainment* Dime , by Guardian* "Dime" , by Beth* The Dimes, a musical group* Dime novel, a type of popular fictionSports* Dime...
(ten cents), Quarter
Quarter
Quarter is one fourth, ¼, or 25%, and may refer to:*Quarter , a section or area, usually of a town*Quarter , valued at one-fourth of a U.S...
(25 cents), Half Dollar
Half dollar
Half dollar may refer to a half-unit of several currencies that are named "dollar". Normally, $1 is divided into 100 cents, so a half dollar is equal to 50 cents...
(50 cents), Dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
, Quarter Eagle
Quarter Eagle
The quarter eagle was a coin issued by the United States with a denomination of two hundred and fifty cents, or two dollars and fifty cents. It was given its name in the Coinage Act of 1792, as a derivation from the US ten-dollar eagle coin...
($2.50), Half Eagle
Half Eagle
The Half Eagle is a United States coin that was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929 and in commemorative and bullion coins since the 1980s. Composed almost entirely of gold, it has a face value of five dollars...
($5), and Eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
($10).
The half cent and cent were made of pure copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, the half dime, dime, quarter, half, and dollar in 90% silver, and the quarter, half and full eagle in .9167 gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
(later changed to .8992 in 1834, and then 90% gold in 1837). All of the coins featured Miss Liberty
Miss Liberty
Miss Liberty is a musical with a book by Robert E. Sherwood and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It is based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty in 1886...
on the front and a bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
on the back.
In the early days, often years went by without a certain denomination being minted.
Seated Liberty era and introduction of the Double Eagle, Nickel and small cent (1836 - 1891)
United States Seated Liberty coinageUnited States Seated Liberty coinage
The Seated Liberty designs appeared on most regular-issue silver United States coinage during the mid- and late-nineteenth century, from 1836 through 1891. The denominations which featured the Seated Liberty design included the half dime, the dime, the quarter, the half dollar, and until 1873 the...
was the silver coin design minted in the mid to late 19th century
19th century
The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...
. The first Seated coin was the now-scarce Seated Liberty Dollar
Seated Liberty dollar
The Seated Liberty dollar was the last silver dollar struck before passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which officially ended production of that denomination...
, which debuted in 1836. The seated liberty dime and seated liberty half dime followed the next year in 1837 and the seated liberty quarter and seated liberty half dollar in 1839.
In 1849, in the wake of the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, the Double Eagle
Double Eagle
A Double Eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. . The coins are made from a 90% gold and 10% copper alloy....
, or $20 gold denomination was added This coin contains nearly a pure ounce of gold and were minted in large quantities; many still exist today and are used as bullion coins and command only a modest premium over spot price
Spot price
The spot price or spot rate of a commodity, a security or a currency is the price that is quoted for immediate settlement . Spot settlement is normally one or two business days from trade date...
, though many dates are rare as well. The Liberty Head Double Eagle
Double Eagle
A Double Eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. . The coins are made from a 90% gold and 10% copper alloy....
was minted up to 1907.
Rising copper prices caused the reduction of the size of the cent. Originally, pennies were large and heavy
Large cent
Large cent can refer to:*the United States one-cent coin minted until 1857; see Large cent .*the Canadian one-cent coin minted until 1920....
. This changed between 1856 and 1857 when they were replaced by the small-sized Flying Eagle cent
Flying Eagle cent
The Flying Eagle cent is a United States coin that was minted from 1856 to 1858. The coin was designed by James B. Longacre. The Flying Eagle was the first small-sized cent coin minted in the US, replacing the earlier large cent. The obverse of the coin depicts an eagle in flight, a unique subject...
, which was made of 88% copper and 12% nickel, and had a somewhat pale brown color. In 1859 this was replaced by the Indian Head cent
Indian Head cent
The Indian Head one-cent coin, also known as an Indian Penny , was produced by the United States Mint from 1859 to 1909 at the Philadelphia Mint and in 1908 and 1909 at the San Francisco Mint...
, and by 1864, the Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
increased nickel and copper prices and the cent was made thinner and the nickel removed; the cent was thus now a small, thin bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
coin.
The five cent nickel coin was introduced in 1866, and gradually it made the half dime obsolete. To this day, the nickel, though the design has changed, retains the same metallic content it had from its inception.
The second half of the 19th century saw several odd coin denominations. The two cent piece was made from 1864 to 1873, and was the first American coin to display the term In God We Trust
In God We Trust
"In God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956. It is also the motto of the U.S. state of Florida. The Legality of this motto has been questioned because of the United States Constitution forbidding the government to make any law respecting the establishment of a...
; a result of the increased wartime religiosity during the Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. three cent piece
Three-cent piece (United States coin)
The United States three cent piece was a unit of currency equaling 3/100th of a United States dollar. The mint produced two different three-cent coins: the three-cent silver and the three-cent nickel. Its purchasing power in 1851 would be equivalent to $ today.-History:The three cent coin has an...
s made of silver, then copper-nickel were also made around this era. From 1875 to 1878, Twenty cent piece
Twenty-cent piece (United States coin)
The United States twenty cent coin was a unit of currency equalling 1/5 of a United States dollar....
s were made in the Seated Liberty design. A Three-dollar piece
Three-dollar piece
The three-dollar piece was a United States coin produced from 1854 to 1889. Its value was intended to tie in with the postal system. At the time, a first class postage stamp was worth 3¢, and such stamps were often sold in sheets of one hundred stamps. Therefore, the three-dollar piece was...
of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
was minted from 1854 to 1889.
In 1878 the first Morgan Silver Dollars were minted; this series lasted until 1904 and was revived for several months in 1921.
Turn of the century American coinage, the introduction of paper money and the end of gold coins (1892 - 1932)
The year 1892 saw the designs of Charles E. BarberCharles E. Barber
Charles Edward Barber was the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. He succeeded his father, William Barber, in the position...
, also designer of the Morgan dollar, adorn the dime, quarter and half dollar. His Liberty Head nickel
Liberty Head nickel
The Liberty Head nickel, sometimes referred to as the V nickel due to its reverse design, was an American five-cent piece. It was struck for circulation from 1883 until 1912, with at least five pieces being surreptitiously struck dated 1913....
had debuted in 1883, and thus from the years 1892 to 1904, his designs were featured on every denomination from 5 cents up to one dollar. The Barber design would last on dimes and quarters up to 1916, on half dollars up to 1915, and on the nickel up to the extremely rare and famous 1913 Liberty Head nickel
1913 Liberty Head Nickel
The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is an American five-cent piece which was produced in extremely limited quantities without the authority of the United States Mint, making it one of the best-known and most coveted rarities in American numismatics...
s.
The United States minted paper money, called Federal Reserve Notes, for the first time in 1917. Originally, these were backed by gold, and a note could be, at least in theory, exchanged for gold coin at a bank until 1933 when gold was confiscated from the general public. Silver certificates were exchangeable for silver coin up to the year 1964.
The design of the American One dollar bill has stayed almost the same since 1935, and the other denominations had a similar appearance until their redesign in the late 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
.
The Gold Eagle was re-designed in 1907 as the Indian Head eagle
Indian Head eagle
The Indian Head eagle was a ten-dollar gold piece, or eagle struck by the United States Mint continuously from 1907 until 1916, and then irregularly until 1933. The obverse and the reverse, designed by the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, were originally commissioned for use on other denominations...
and the $2.50 and $5 pieces followed in 1908. The Liberty Head Double Eagle was replaced with the St. Gaudens Double Eagle
St. Gaudens Double Eagle
The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is a twenty-dollar gold coin, or double eagle, produced by the United States Mint from 1907 to 1933. The coin is named after its designer, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed the obverse and reverse. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful of U.S...
in 1907. The wheat penny was introduced in 1909 and the Buffalo nickel and Mercury dime
Mercury dime
The Mercury dime is a ten-cent coin struck by the United States Mint from 1916 to 1945. Designed by Adolph Weinman and also known as the Winged Liberty dime, it gained its common name as the obverse depiction of a young Liberty, identifiable by her winged Phrygian cap, was confused with the Roman...
were both introduced in the 1910s
1910s
File:1910s montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Model T Ford is introduced and becomes widespread; The sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic causes the deaths of nearly 1,500 people and attracts global and historical attention; Title bar: All the events below are part of World War I ; French Army lookout...
(1913 and 1916, respectively).
The Peace Dollar
Peace Dollar
The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1921 to 1928, and again in 1934 and 1935. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of peace. Its reverse depicts an eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend...
was minted from 1921 to 1933. After 1933, no more gold coins or silver dollars would be minted by the US Mint until the bullion and commemorative series that began in the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
and continue to the present day.
Mid to late 20th century and the end of silver coinage (1933 - c. 1998)
As there were no more gold coins or silver dollars after the Executive Order 6102Executive Order 6102
Executive Order 6102 is an Executive Order signed on April 5, 1933, by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt "forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates within the continental United States"...
of 1933 minted in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, paper notes took place of the coin denominations above 50 cents. Up to 1964, dimes, quarters and half dollars were still minted in 90% silver; halves would contain 40% silver from 1965 to 1970.
The new tradition of placing past presidents and Founding Fathers on coins, began with the 1909 Lincoln cent, continued in the 1930s and 1940s, with the introduction of the Washington quarter in 1932, the Jefferson nickel
Jefferson nickel
The Jefferson nickel has been the five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint since 1938, when it replaced the Buffalo nickel. Since 2006, the copper-nickel coin's obverse has featured a forward-facing portrayal of early US President Thomas Jefferson by Jamie Franki...
in 1938, the Roosevelt dime in 1946, and the Franklin half dollar
Franklin half dollar
The Franklin half dollar is a coin that was struck by the United States Mint from 1948 to 1963. The fifty-cent piece pictures Founding Father Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. A small eagle was placed to the right of the bell to fulfill the legal requirement...
in 1948. The original Washington quarter design remained unchanged, aside from the removal of silver content and finer details, until 1998, the Jefferson nickel until 2003, and the Roosevelt dime to the present day. The Franklin half was replaced by the John F. Kennedy half dollar in 1964 to commemorate him after his murder.
The last silver coins are dated 1964 , though they were actually minted for several years later dated as 1964. In 1982, the penny had most of its copper content removed, and is now made primarily of zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, with a thin copper plating.
The paper money of the United States was re-designed to deter counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
through the late 1990s and early to mid 2000s.
Contemporary (1999 to present)
American coinage and paper money has gone through significant changes since the late 1990s1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
. Up to the mid 1990s American money had changed little since the end of silver coins in the mid 1960s, and some of the denominations, including the paper notes and the nickel, had barely changed since the 1930s.
Beginning in 1996 with the $100 and $50 bills, paper money was redesigned to deter counterfeit. In 1999, the State Quarter program ended the classic design of the Washington quarter. Next came the 2004 nickels, meant to commemorate Lewis and Clark's 200th anniversary. The cent was re-designed in 2009 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's 200th birthday.
The dollar coin returned in 1999, in a case very similar to the 1921 Morgan dollar, the Susan B. Anthony dollar
Susan B. Anthony dollar
The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted from 1979 to 1981, and again in 1999. It depicts women's suffrage campaigner Susan B. Anthony on a dollar coin. It was the first circulating U.S. coin with the portrait of an actual woman rather than an allegorical female figure such as...
returned in 1999, to fill in until the Sacagawea Dollar
Sacagawea dollar
The Sacagawea dollar is a United States dollar coin that has been minted every year since 2000. These coins have a copper core clad by manganese brass, giving them a distinctive golden color. The coin features an obverse by Glenna Goodacre. The reverse design has varied, from 2000 to 2008...
came about in 2000. Concurrent is the Presidential Dollar series.