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National Numismatic Collection

National Numismatic Collection

American History Museum

The National Numismatic Collection is comprised of approximately 1.6 million objects and is thought to be the largest collection of money and transactional objects in the world. Its diverse holdings represent every inhabited continent and span more than three millennia.

The collection has grown from a few thousand objects in the mid-19th century to its present size through donations from public institutions and private collections.

The National Numismatic Collection is unrivaled in its holdings of American material. It is the U.S. monetary system's collection of record and includes the extraordinary collections of the U.S. Mint, Treasury, and Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

A small portion of the National Numismatic Collection is available here. The National Numismatic Collection is currently working to develop digitization initiatives in order to make the national collection more accessible to the public.


  • National Museum of American History 31 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Coins (money) 21 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • spade money 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • bridge money 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • knife money 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Cowrie Shell 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Ingot 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • alternative currency 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • alternative currency; Asia 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • coin; japanese issue 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • cowry shell 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • oban 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • pu 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • sycee 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1000s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1300s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1400s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1580s 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1590s 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1600s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1660s 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1830s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1860s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1900s 7 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 600s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • BCE 0s 6 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • China 18 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Japan 10 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • United States 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Szechuan 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Asia 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Korea 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • East Asian Coins 31 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Museum of American History 31 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Value of Money 31 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection 31 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Josiah K. Lilly Jr. Collection 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Coins 31 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Money 31 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Josiah K. Lilly Jr. Collection 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Not determined 25 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus

Filter Settings

Included:

  • Remove Place: East Asia close

1 Yoshi Mame Ban, Japan, 1570 - 1580

7 Mace and 2 Candareens, United States for China, 1902

K'ai Yuan, China, 618-626

Qi (Ch'i) Knife, China, 7th-3rd Century BCE

3.6 Candareens, United States for China, 1902

Wu Zhu, Western Han, China, ca 75 BCE

7.2 Candareens, United States for China, 1902

Dragon Head Bridge Money, China, 5th-3rd century BCE

Cowrie Shell, Asia, n.d.

Spade Money, Chines, 400 BCE

1 Oban, Japan, 1480

Shun Chih T'ung Pao, China, 1644-1662

1 Oban, Japan, 1586 - 1587

1 Oban, Japan, 1573 - 1592

1 Oban, Japan, 1860

Hollow-Handle Spade, China, 400 BCE

1 Mace and 4.4 Candareens, United States for China 1902

Commemorative Coin, Japan, 1573 - 1592

1 Oban, Japan, 1582

Bridge Money, China, 5th-3rd century BCE

1 Goryoban, Japan, 1837

1 Oban, Japan, 16th century

Shun Chih T'ung Pao, China, 1644-1662

Sycee, China, 19th Century

20 Won, Korea, 1906

3 Mace and 6 Candareens, United States for China, 1902

Yuan Feng T'ung Pao, China, 1078-1086

Chih Ta T'ung Pao, China, 1308-1312

1 Taiko Fukju Ban, Japan, 1580-1590

Ming Knife Money, China, 5th-1st century BCE

Square Foot Spade Money

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