Reference Library
Long-form coin histories, design provenance, and reference essays. From the ancient era to modern commemoratives.
Popular: Morgan DollarBuffalo NickelWheat CentSeated LibertyCoin Grading
Featured
By 1840 the Philadelphia Mint still held substantial stocks of Classic Head half cents struck in the 1830s and had no pressing reason to produce more coins for commerce. The denomination had not…
The tradition of placing allegorical figures on American coins rather than real people had held since the republic's founding. Putting a leader's portrait on money was understood as a monarchical…
Public Law 115-197, the Innovation $1 Coin Act, was signed July 20, 2018, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to mint dollar coins honoring significant innovations and pioneering efforts from…
The California Gold Rush created a silver shortage by an indirect route. The enormous quantities of gold extracted after 1848 depressed its price relative to silver. Silver, suddenly the dearer…
The Act of June 28, 1834 reduced the gold content of the half eagle from 8.75 grams at .9167 fineness to 8.36 grams at .8992 fineness, eliminating the bullion arbitrage that had sent nearly every…
View all 85 articles → · or browse by topic, denomination, or country below.
