Cancelled denominations of United States currency

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The United States has several coins and banknotes which were proposed at one time but never adopted.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Coins of the United States dollar were first minted in 1792. New coins have been produced annually and they make up a valuable aspect of the United States currency system. Today, circulating coins exist in denominations of 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, and $1.00. Also minted are bullion and commemorative coins. All of these are produced by the United States Mint. The coins are then sold to Federal Reserve Banks which in turn are responsible for putting coins into circulation and withdrawing them as demanded by the country's economy.

Multiple types of banknotes of the United States dollar have been issued, including Federal Reserve Notes, Silver Certificates, Gold certificates and United States Notes.

Contents

Banknotes

A three dollar bill was proposed two times during the 1860s. A design was engraved for a potential $3 United States Note, and a 1865 law called for a $3 National Bank Note, but neither proposal came to fruition.

United States Note

A United States Note, also known as a Legal Tender Note, is a type of paper money that was issued from 1862 to 1971 in the U.S. Having been current for 109 years, they were issued for longer than any other form of U.S. paper money. They were known popularly as "greenbacks", a name inherited from the earlier greenbacks, the Demand Notes, that they replaced in 1862. Often termed Legal Tender Notes, they were named United States Notes by the First Legal Tender Act, which authorized them as a form of fiat currency. During the 1860s the so-called second obligation on the reverse of the notes stated:

This Note is a Legal Tender for All Debts Public and Private Except Duties On Imports And Interest On The Public Debt; And Is Redeemable In Payment Of All Loans Made To The United States.

National Bank Note

National Bank Notes were United States currency banknotes issued by National banks chartered by the United States Government. The notes were usually backed by United States bonds the bank deposited with the United States Treasury. In addition, banks were required to maintain a redemption fund amounting to five percent of any outstanding note balance, in gold or "lawful money".

DenominationObverseReverseNotes
$3 note Three Dollar United States Note proof, obverse.jpg Three Dollar United States Note proof, reverse.jpg Not to be confused with privately issued obsolete notes

Coinage

There have been several United States coins which were proposed but never adopted. Most of the coins listed below, although never adopted, were produced in limited numbers as patterns.

Pattern coin sample coin to demonstrate the design of a coin

A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike, to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin collectors collect and study pattern coins because of their historical importance. Many of the world's most valuable coins are pattern coins; nearly one quarter of the pieces listed in 100 Greatest US Coins are pattern coins.

DenominationObverseReverseWeightDiameterMaterialEdgeMintedNotes
Silver center cent
1¢		 1792 Silver center cent pattern, obverse.jpg 1792 Silver center cent pattern, reverse.jpg 4.48 g24.00 mmCu (ring)
Ag (plug)		reeded1792The first and only US bi-metallic coin until the 2000 Library of Congress ten dollar coin.
Ring cent
1¢		 1850 P1C One Cent, Judd-119 Original, Pollock-134, Low R.6.jpg 1850 P1C One Cent, Judd-119 Original, Pollock-134, Low R.6 rev.jpg various weights90% Cu

10% Ag α

various1850–1851, 1853 β , 1884–1885196 ring cents (originals and restrikes) are known to exist. [1] Examples exist with or without a hole.
Aluminum cent
1¢		 1974Aluminumfront.jpg 1974Aluminumback.jpg 0.937 g19.05 mm96% Al
4% trace metals		plain1973–1975
Two-cent billon
2¢		 1836 P2C Two Cents (Judd-52) (obv).jpg 1836 P2C Two Cents (Judd-52) (rev).jpg 3.84 g~13.00 mm90% Cu
10% Ag		plain1836
Two and a half cent piece
2.5¢		unknownunknownunknownunknownnever mintedProposed in 1916 by US mint director Robert W. Woolley. [2]
Civil War tokens of this denomination exist.
Three-cent bronze
3¢		 1863 3C Three Cents, Judd-319 Restrike, Pollock-384, R.5.jpg 1863 3C Three Cents, Judd-319 Restrike, Pollock-384, R.5 rev.jpg 10.89 g28.57 mm95% Cu
5% Zn		plain1863
Ring nickel
5¢		 1884 ring nickel (obverse).jpg 1884 ring nickel (reverse).jpg plain1884–1885 [3] [4]
Platinum half dollar
50¢		 1814 Platinum half dollar (obverse).jpg 1814 Platinum half dollar (reverse).jpg platinumreeded1814 [5]
Gold ring half dollar
50¢		 1852 gold ring half dollar (obverse).jpg 1852 gold ring half dollar (reverse).jpg 1852 [6]
Gold ring dollar
$1		 1852 gold ring dollar (obverse).jpg 1852 gold ring dollar (reverse).jpg 1849, 1852 [7] [8]
Two dollar piece
$2		unknownunknownunknownunknownnever mintedProposed but not minted. [9] Some privately struck renditions exist. [10]
Stella
$4		 1879 Flowing Hair Stella obverse.png 1879 Flowing Hair Stella reverse.png 7.00 g22 mm6.00g Au
0.30g Ag
0.70g Cu		reeded1879–1880
Half-union
$50		 1877 $50 Fifty Dollar pattern (Judd-1547, Pollock-1720) Obverse.jpg 1877 $50 Fifty Dollar pattern (Judd-1547, Pollock-1720) Reverse.jpg 83.58 g50.80 mm90% Au
10% Cu γ 		reeded1877 Commemorative coins of this denomination were issued in 1915.

Several bullion coins are produced in this denomination.

Union
$100		 Proposed $100 Gold Union, obverse.jpg Proposed $100 Gold Union, reverse.jpg unknownunknown90% Au
10% Cu		unknownnever mintedCancelled before any patterns could be minted (fantasy coin shown).

Some commemorative and bullion coins are minted in this denomination.

Notes

^α Pattern coins for the ring cent were struck in various metals, including copper, aluminum, and nickel, as well as billon.
^β 1853 ring cents are restrikes dated 1850, although they can be distinguished from the original 1850 cents in that they use a different reverse design.
^γ Although circulation strikes of the Half Union were to be 90% gold 10% copper, only two of the twenty known pattern coins were struck with this composition. The other 18 were struck in 100% copper, although some were later plated with gold by the mint. [11]

Related Research Articles

Penny (United States coin) unit of currency equaling one-hundredth of a United States dollar

The United States one-cent coin, often called the penny, is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. The cent's symbol is ¢. The first U.S. cent was produced in 1787, and the cent has been issued primarily as a copper or copper-plated coin throughout its history. Its obverse has featured the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of his birth. From 1959 to 2008, the reverse featured the Lincoln Memorial. Four different reverse designs in 2009 honored Lincoln's 200th birthday and a new, "permanent" reverse – the Union Shield – was introduced in 2010. The coin is 0.75 inches (19.05 mm) in diameter and 0.0598 inches (1.52 mm) in thickness. Its weight has varied, depending upon the composition of metals used in its production.

1943 steel cent

1943 steel cents are U.S. one-cent coins that were struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper. The Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints each produced these 1943 Lincoln cents. The unique composition of the coin has led to various nicknames, such as wartime cent, steel war penny, and steelie. The 1943 steel cent features the same Victor David Brenner design for the Lincoln cent which had been in use since the first in 1909.

United States commemorative coins

The United States Mint has minted numerous commemorative coins to commemorate persons, places, events, and institutions since 1848. Many of these coins are not intended for general circulation, but are still legal tender. The mint also produced commemorative medals, which are similar to coins but do not have a face value, and therefore are not legal tender.

1955 doubled die cent

The 1955 doubled die cent is a die variety that occurred during production of the one cent coin at the United States Mint in 1955.

Nickel (Canadian coin) Canadian coin worth 5 cents

The Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a coin worth five cents or one-twentieth of a Canadian dollar. It was patterned on the corresponding coin in the neighbouring United States. It became the smallest-valued coin in the currency upon the discontinuation of the penny in 2013. Due to inflation, the purchasing power of the nickel continues to drop and currently the coin represents less than 0.5% of the country's lowest minimum hourly wage.

Below are the mintage figures for the United States cent.

Large cent Wikipedia disambiguation page

The United States large cent was a coin with a face value of 1/100 of a United States dollar. Its nominal diameter was 1​1⁄8 inch (28.57 mm). The first official mintage of the large cent was in 1793, and its production continued until 1857, when it was officially replaced by the modern-size one-cent coin.

Flying Eagle cent A one-cent piece struck by the Mint of the United States

The Flying Eagle cent is a one-cent piece struck by the Mint of the United States as a pattern coin in 1856 and for circulation in 1857 and 1858. The coin was designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre, with the eagle in flight based on the work of Longacre's predecessor, Christian Gobrecht.

The silver center cent is an American pattern coin, one of the precursors to the large cent and an early example of a bimetallic coin. Less than a dozen specimens are known to exist today, and they generally fetch substantial prices; an uncirculated silver center cent sold at auction for $414,000 in January 2002. That price was eclipsed by an example graded PCGS MS61 offered at auction in April 2012, with a price tag of more than $1 million.

1974 aluminum cent United States pattern coin

The 1974 aluminum cent was a one-cent coin proposed by the United States Mint in 1973. It was composed of an alloy of aluminum and trace metals, and intended to replace the predominantly copper–zinc cent due to the rising costs of coin production in the traditional bronze alloy. Of the 1,571,167 coins struck in anticipation of release, none were released into circulation. To encourage congressional support for the new alloy, the Mint distributed several examples to US Congressmen. When the proposed aluminum cent was rejected, the Mint recalled and destroyed those coins. However, despite the recall, a few aluminum cents were not returned to the Mint, and those coins may remain at-large. One example was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, while another was alleged to have been found by a US Capitol Police Officer. A 1974-D specimen was found in January 2014 by Randall Lawrence, who said it was a retirement gift to his father, who worked at the Mint in Denver. Randall planned on selling it in a public auction, but the Mint demanded its return, saying that the coin was never authorized for release and therefore remains U.S. Government property. Lawrence ultimately surrendered the coin when the Mint showed that the aluminum cent had never been authorized to be struck in Denver, and there was no evidence that the coin had been a gift of any kind.

Half union

The Half union was a United States coin minted as a pattern, or a coin not approved for release, with a face value of fifty U.S. Dollars. It is often thought of as one of the most significant and well-known patterns in the history of the U.S. Mint. The basic design, featuring Liberty on the obverse, was slightly modified from the similar $20 "Liberty Head" Double Eagle, which was designed by James B. Longacre and minted from 1849 to 1907.

Coronet large cent

The Coronet large cent was a type of large cent issued by the United States Mint in Philadelphia from 1816 until 1839.

Two-cent billon

The two-cent billon was a pattern US coin struck in 1836 and initially proposed as part of the Act of January 13, 1837. Versions exist with either a reeded edge and coin orientation or a plain edge and medal orientation; however, those with the former tend to be original strikes, whereas the latter are always proof restrikes.

Ring cent

The ring cent or holey cent was a one-cent pattern coin first struck in various compositions and designs between 1850 and 1851 as part of an experiment on producing a cent with a reduced weight and diameter, as the rising price of copper had caused cents to cost more than their face value to produce. Many varieties exist, with differing designs as well as differing compositions, including billon (standard), aluminum, copper, cupronickel, nickel silver, nickel, silver, and white metal.

Union (United States coin) Proposed US$100 coin

The Union was a proposed $100 coin of the United States dollar. It was cancelled before any pattern coins could be minted.

1942 experimental cents

The 1942 experimental cents were pattern coins struck by the United States Mint to test alternative compositions for the penny.

2000 Sacagawea dollar – Washington quarter mule

The 2000 Sacagawea dollar – Washington quarter mule is an error coin featuring the obverse of the Washington quarter on the planchet of a Sacagawea dollar. It is the first known authentic mule coin released by the United States Mint.

Continental Currency dollar coin Early United States coin

The Continental Currency dollar coin was the first coin struck for the United States. The coins were minted in 1776 and were made of pewter, brass, or silver.

Washington nickel

The Washington nickel is a pattern coin that was struck by the United States Mint in 1866 and again in 1909 and 1910.

References

  1. ↑ "1792-1856". uspatterns.stores.yahoo.net. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  2. ↑ "Mint proposed 2.5-cent piece in 1916". Coin World. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  3. ↑ "J1724/P1934". uspatterns.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  4. ↑ "J1742/P1954". uspatterns.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  5. ↑ "PCGS Certifies Unique Pattern 1814 Platinum Half Dollar, Gives New ID Number". PCGS. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  6. ↑ "J135/P162". uspatterns.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  7. ↑ "J115/P130". uspatterns.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  8. ↑ "J136/P163". uspatterns.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Sol Taylor: Our Odd-Denomination Coins" . Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "Coin Designs by Daniel Carr. 1987-2001 Apollo Astronaut dollar, two dollar bi-metallic circulating coins" . Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "Fifty Dollar". uspatterns.stores.yahoo.net. Retrieved 2019-03-27.


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