United States coinage
The currently authorized denominations of circulating
United States coins are:
All coins are fractions of the
United States dollar and are created by the
United States Mint.
Several non-circulating bullion coins are also produced by the United States Mint.
- Hundred Dollar, $100, one ounce platinum
- Fifty Dollar, $50, half-ounce platinum
- Fifty Dollar, $50, one ounce gold
- Twenty-Five Dollar, $25, half-ounce gold
- Twenty-Five Dollar, $25, quarter-ounce platinum
- Ten Dollar, $10, tenth-ounce platinum
- Ten Dollar, $10, quarter-ounce gold
- Five Dollar, $5, tenth-ounce gold
- One Dollar, $1, one-ounce silver
Historical denominations of US coins, which no longer circulate, include:
- half-cent
- two cent
- three cent
- half dime
- twenty cent
- two and one-half dollar or quarter eagle
- three dollar
- four dollar
- five dollar or half eagle
- ten dollar or eagle
- twenty dollar or double eagle (see: 1933 U.S. 20 dollar gold coin)
It is a common misconception that "eagle"-based nomenclature for gold US coinage was merely slang. This is not the case. The
eagle,
half eagle, and
quarter eagle were specifically given these names in the Act of Congress that originally authorized them ("An Act establishing a Mint, and regulating Coins of the United States", section 9, April 2, 1792). Likewise, the Double Eagle was specifically created as such by name ("An Act to authorize the Coinage of Gold Dollars and Double Eagles", title and section 1, March 3, 1849).
The
current dollar coin has an image of
Sacagawea on the obverse, and is minted of a golden colored brass manganese alloy. This "golden dollar" was designed to replace the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, which was produced from
1979-
1981 and again in
1999. The size, weight, and
electromagnetic characteristics of the Sacagawea dollar exactly match those of the
Susan B. Anthony dollar, avoiding any need to modify vending machines.
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