Some famous ciphertexts (or cryptograms), in chronological order by date, are:
| data-sort-type="number" | Year of origin | Ciphertext | Decipherment status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179-180 | Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 90 | ||
| 1400s (15th century) | Voynich Manuscript | ||
| 1500s (16th century) (?) | Rohonc Codex | ||
| 1586 | Babington Plot ciphers | ||
| 17th century | Great Cipher | ||
| 1730 | Olivier Levasseur's treasure cryptogram | ||
| 1760–1780 | Copiale cipher | ||
| 1843 | "The Gold-Bug" cryptogram by Edgar Allan Poe | ||
| 1882 | Debosnys cipher | ||
| 1885 | Beale ciphers | ||
| 1897 | Dorabella Cipher | ||
| 1903 | "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" code by Arthur Conan Doyle | ||
| 1917 | |||
| 1918 | Chaocipher | ||
| 1918–1945 | Enigma machine messages | ||
| 1939 | D'Agapeyeff cipher | ||
| 1939–1945 | Purple cipher machine messages | ||
| 1941 | Lorenz SZ42 machine cipher messages | ||
| 1944 | Pigeon NURP 40 TW 194 | ||
| 1948 | Tamam Shud case | ||
| 1950(?) | James Hampton | ||
| 1969 | Zodiac Killer ciphers | ||
| 1977 | The Magic Words are Squeamish Ossifrage | ||
| 1983 | |||
| 1986 | Decipher II | ||
| 1987 | Decipher III | ||
| 1990 | Kryptos | ||
| 1991 | Scorpion ciphers[1] | ||
| 1999 | Ricky McCormick's encrypted notes | ||
| 2006 | Smithy code, embedded within the 2006 judgment on The Da Vinci Code case | ||
| 2012–2016 | Cicada 3301 puzzles | ||
| 2015 | 11B-X-1371 |