The United States has produced several coins and banknotes of its dollar which no longer circulate or have been disused. Many of these were removed for specific reasons such as inflation reducing their value, a lack of demand, or being too similar to another denominatian.
American coins (images) [1]
The U.S. Dollar has numerous discontinued denominations, particularly high denomination bills, issued before and in 1934 in six denominations ranging from $500 to $100,000. Although still legal tender, most are in the hands of collectors and museums. The reverse designs featured abstract scroll-work with ornate denomination identifiers. With the exception of the $100,000 bill, these bills ceased production in the 1940s, and were recalled in 1969. Of these, the $100,000 was printed only as a Series 1934 gold certificate and was only used for internal government transactions. The United States also issued fractional currency for a brief time in the 1860s and 1870s, in several denominations each less than a dollar.
Denomination | Obverse | Reverse | Portrait |
---|---|---|---|
3 cent note | ![]() | ![]() | George Washington |
5 cent note | ![]() | ![]() | Thomas Jefferson |
10 cent note | ![]() | ![]() | William M. Meredith |
15 cent note | ![]() | ![]() | Bust of Columbia |
25 cent note | ![]() | ![]() | Robert Walker |
50 cent note | ![]() | ![]() | William Crawford |
$500 bill | ![]() | ![]() | William McKinley |
$1,000 bill | ![]() | ![]() | Grover Cleveland |
$2,000 bill | ![]() | ![]() | Various historical figures |
$5,000 bill | ![]() | ![]() | James Madison |
$10,000 bill | ![]() | ![]() | Salmon P. Chase |
$100,000 bill | ![]() | ![]() | Woodrow Wilson |
There have been numerous coins throughout the United States dollar's history that no longer circulate. Some, like the half-cent coin were removed due to inflation reducing their value while others such as the two-cent piece were removed due to a lack of demand.
Note that this table shows the latest status before the coin denomination was rendered obsolete.
Denomination | Obverse | Reverse | Weight | Diameter | Material | Edge | Issued from |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Half cent 1/2¢ | ![]() | ![]() | 5.443 g | 23.5 mm | 100% Cu | plain | 1793–1857 |
Large cent 1¢ | ![]() | ![]() | 10.89 g | 29 mm | 100% Cu | plain | 1793–1857 |
Two-cent piece 2¢ | ![]() | ![]() | 6.22 g | 23.00 mm | 95% Cu 5% Sn and Zn | plain | 1864–1873 |
Three-cent nickel 3¢ | ![]() | ![]() | 1.94 g | 17.9 mm | 75% Cu 25% Ni | plain | 1865–1889 |
Trime 3¢ | ![]() | ![]() | .8 g | 14 mm | 90% Ag 10% Cu | plain | 1851–1873 |
Half dime 5¢ | ![]() | ![]() | 1.24 g | 15.5 mm | 90% Ag 10% Cu | Reeded | 1792–1873 |
Twenty-cent piece 20¢ | ![]() | ![]() | 5 g | 22 mm | 90% Ag 10% Cu | Plain | 1875–1878 |
Gold dollar $1 | ![]() | ![]() | 1.7 g | 14.3 mm | 90% Au 10% Cu | Reeded | 1849–1889 α |
Quarter eagle $2.50 | ![]() | ![]() | 4.18 g | 18 mm | 90% Au 10% Cu | Reeded | 1795–1929 α |
Three-dollar piece $3 | ![]() | ![]() | 5.01 g | 20.5 mm | 90% Au 10% Cu | Reeded | 1853–1889 |
Half eagle $5 | ![]() | ![]() | 8.36 g | 21.6 mm | 90% Au 10% Cu | Reeded | 1795–1929 β |
Eagle $10 | ![]() | ![]() | 16.7 g | 26.8 mm | 90% Au 10% Cu | Reeded | 1795–1933 β |
Double eagle $20 | ![]() | ![]() | 35 g | 34 mm | 90% Au 10% Cu | Reeded | 1849–1932 γ |
The quarter, short for quarter dollar, is a United States coin worth 25 cents, one-quarter of a dollar. It has a diameter of .955 inch (24.26 mm) and a thickness of .069 inch (1.75 mm). The coin sports the profile of George Washington on its obverse, and its reverse design has changed frequently. It has been produced on and off since 1796 and consistently since 1831.
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.
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Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in payment of a debt extinguishes the debt. There is no obligation on the creditor to accept the tendered payment, but the act of tendering the payment in legal tender discharges the debt.
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A nickel is a five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint. Composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel, the piece has been issued since 1866. Its diameter is .835 inches (21.21 mm) and its thickness is .077 inches (1.95 mm). Due to inflation, the purchasing power of the nickel continues to drop, and currently the coin represents less than 1% of the federal hourly minimum wage. In 2018, over 1.26 billion nickels were produced at the Philadelphia and Denver mints.
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The dollar coin is a United States coin with a face value of one United States dollar. It is the second largest U.S. coin currently minted for circulation in terms of physical size, with a diameter of 1.043 inches and a thickness of 0.079 in (2.0 mm), coming second to the half dollar. Dollar coins have been minted in the United States in gold, silver, and base metal versions. Dollar coins were first minted in the United States in 1794. While true gold dollars are no longer minted, the Sacagawea, Presidential, and American Innovation dollars are sometimes referred to as golden dollars because of their color.
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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.
The Soviet ruble was the currency of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). One ruble (руб) was divided into 100 kopeks. Many of the ruble designs were created by Ivan Dubasov. The production of Soviet rubles was the responsibility of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, or Goznak, which was in charge of the printing of and materials production for banknotes and the minting of coins in Moscow and Leningrad. In addition to regular currency, some other currency units were used, such as several forms of convertible ruble, transferable ruble, clearing ruble, Vneshtorgbank cheque, etc.; also, several forms of virtual rubles were used for inter-enterprise accounting and international settlement in the Comecon zone. In 1991, after the breakup of the USSR, the Soviet ruble continued to be used in the post-Soviet states, forming a "ruble zone", until it was replaced with the Russian ruble in September 1993.
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The three-dollar piece was a gold coin produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1854 to 1889. Authorized by the Act of February 21, 1853, the coin was designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre. The obverse bears a representation of Lady Liberty wearing a headdress of a Native American princess and the reverse a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco.
This article concerns the coins of the New Zealand dollar.
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its territories per the Coinage Act of 1792. One dollar is divided into 100 cents, or into 1000 mills for accounting and taxation purposes. The Coinage Act of 1792 created a decimal currency by creating the dime, nickel, and penny coins, as well as the dollar, half dollar, and quarter dollar coins, all of which are still minted in 2020.
The copper-nickel three-cent piece, often called a three-cent nickel piece or three-cent nickel, was designed by US Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre and struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1865 to 1889. It was initially popular, but its place in commerce was supplanted by the five-cent piece, or nickel.
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