Shaping American Identity 

Collectors can examine some of the artistic foundations of American coinage at a new exhibit in Washington, D.C. Shaping American Identity: The Art of the U.S. Department of the Treasury opens at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream on September 19. The exhibition brings together seldom-seen numismatic material with the artwork and objects that helped shape the nation’s visual identity. 

Among the featured pieces are a 1907 double eagle (gold $20) and a 1935 Buffalo nickel, accompanied by plaster and metal casts associated with their designers Augustus Saint-Gaudens and James Earle Fraser, respectively.

The display highlights a pivotal period in U.S. coinage when Treasury officials, encouraged by President Theodore Roosevelt, sought to raise the artistic standard of circulating coins. Saint-Gaudens’s double eagle and Fraser’s Buffalo nickel remain landmarks of American numismatic design.

Paper-money collectors will also find material of interest, including Silver Certificates from the 1896 Educational Series and the original commissioned artwork by Will H. Low, Edwin H. Blashfield, and Walter Shirlaw.

“We are delighted to partner with the U.S. Treasury to exhibit these rarely seen original works that are visually striking and deeply symbolic, weaving together iconic imagery and timeless ideals such as liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum,” says David Trulio, president of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream. “From currency, to paintings, to bond posters, to building designs, this exhibition illustrates for visitors how the Treasury has communicated America’s founding principles, inspired our citizens, and called them to action.”

Shaping American Identity runs through January 18, 2027. Admission is free, but tickets are required. The exhibit is a collaboration between the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, with participation from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the United States Mint, and Freedom250.