Skip to main content

Search

Donate

Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Timed-Entry Passes
    • Tips & Guidelines
    • Accessibility
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current Exhibitions
      • Upcoming
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Online Exhibitions
    • Today's Events
    • Online Events
    • All Events
  • Explore
    • Collections
      • Open Access
      • Smithsonian Snapshot
    • Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • Mobile Apps
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Freer|Sackler Archives
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries and Special Collections
  • Learn
    • For Educators
      • Resources
      • Events
      • Field Trips
      • Professional Development
    • For Kids and Teens
    • Youth Programs
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Citizen Science
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Visitor Information Specialist
      • Docent Programs
    • Fellowships & Internships
    • Work with Us
      • Human Resources
        • Working Here
        • Employee Benefits
        • Job Opportunities
        • How to Apply
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Contact Us
      • Affiliations
      • Global Partners
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Your Membership
    • Make a Gift
  • About
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Research Centers
    • Cultural Centers
    • Education
    • Our Leadership
      • Secretary Bunch
      • Assistant Secretary for Advancement
      • Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs
      • Under Secretary for Administration
      • Under Secretary for Education
      • Under Secretary for Museums and Culture
      • Under Secretary for Science and Research
    • Our Organization
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Contact
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
      • Inspector General
        • About the OIG
        • Contact OIG
        • Office of Audits
        • Office of Investigations
        • Reports and Other Publications
          • OIG Audit Reports
          • Other OIG Publications
          • Semiannual Reports to Congress
        • Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
          • What to Report
          • Recognizing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Records Request Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Equal Employment Office
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Special Emphasis Program
        • Supplier Diversity Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Policies and Procedures
          • Additional Resources
          • Goals and Accomplishments
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
        • One Smithsonian
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

5 Dollars, United States, 1838

National Museum of American History

Addthis Share Tools

    • Print

Object Details

mint
U.S. Mint, Charlotte
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1838
Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty head with curled hair and wearing headband. 13 stars along coin edge.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1838 / C
Reverse Image: Eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest with vertical stripes on bottom part and horizontal stripes on top part.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / 5 D.
Description
To process the gold and silver being mined in new locations, the federal government passed legislation to open three new branch mints in 1835: in Charlotte, North Carolina; Dahlonega, Georgia; and New Orleans, Louisiana. The first two would only strike coins from local gold. The third would mint coins from silver as well as from gold, because those two metals were pouring into the Crescent City from Latin America.
All three branch facilities opened their doors in 1838. The New Orleans Mint was a success from the very beginning. The other two suffered growing pains but finally reached full production in the 1850s. All three closed during the Civil War, but New Orleans eventually reopened in 1879 and remained a major player in the country's monetary system until the first decade of the twentieth century. Charlotte and Dahlonega stayed closed.
A way was sought to distinguish the products of these new mints from those of the original one. Philadelphia had never marked its coins-there had been no need, with no other coiners in existence. But now a way was devised to show which coins came from where.
A mint mark, consisting of a single letter, would be placed on each of the products of the branch Mints-an O for New Orleans, a D for Dahlonega, and a C for Charlotte. The mint marks briefly appeared on the coins' obverse, but then they were relegated to the reverse, where they remained.
Collectors call the 1838 Charlotte half eagle a "one-year type": coins of this design with the obverse mint mark were only struck during that single year. There were about seventeen thousand of them, compared with over a quarter million at Philadelphia.
Location
Currently not on view
1838
ID Number
1984.1046.0372
accession number
1984.1046
catalog number
1984.1046.0372
Object Name
coin
Physical Description
gold (overall metal)
0 (overall die axis)
0 (overall die axis measurement)
struck (overall production method)
Measurements
overall: 1.4 mm x 22.3 mm; 1/16 in x 7/8 in
place of issue
United States: North Carolina, Charlotte
Related Publication
Zoomable Image and Details
Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
Related Web Publication
http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
See more items in
Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
Legendary Coins
Coins
Numismatics
Coins, Currency and Medals
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1077674
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-24a4-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • National Numismatic Collection:Introduction

    American History Museum
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Press Room
  • Employment
  • Host Your Event
  • Access Smithsonian
  • EEO & Supplier Diversity
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Email signup form

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
Back to Top