Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Silver Dollar
A 1992 U.S. 90% silver commemorative dollar marking 500 years since Columbus's 1492 voyage, with a standing Columbus obverse and a sailing-ship reverse.
Modern Commemorative
Solidus of Justinian I
Byzantine gold solidus of Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD), showing his crowned imperial bust with a seated figure on the reverse.
Ancient Coins
Spade Guinea
A late George III gold guinea named for the distinctive spade-shaped shield on its reverse, struck in England from 1787 into the early 1800s.
Milled
Half Guinea of Anne
An English milled gold half guinea of Queen Anne, showing her left-facing bust and a crowned cruciform reverse of shields with fleurs-de-lis.
Milled
Broad
A gold twenty-shilling coin of the Protectorate bearing Oliver Cromwell's Roman-style profile and a crowned quartered shield, dated 1656.
Hammered
George-noble
A rare Tudor gold noble of Henry VIII showing St George slaying the dragon, valued at 6 shillings 8 pence.
Hammered
Triple Unite
The largest English hammered gold coin, struck for Charles I during the Civil War and valued at 60 shillings (three pounds).
Hammered
Denarius of Cassius Longinus
Silver denarius struck in 42 BC by Gaius Cassius Longinus, one of Caesar's assassins, to pay his legions before the Battle of Philippi.
Ancient
Sovereign of William IV
A 22-carat gold sovereign of William IV, with the king's bare head facing right and a crowned royal shield of arms on the reverse.
Milled
Solidus of Galla Placidia
A late Roman gold solidus struck in the name of Galla Placidia, empress and regent, showing her diademed bust and a Victory holding a long cross.
Ancient
Newfoundland Two Dollars
Small gold two-dollar coin of the colony of Newfoundland; the only circulating coin ever denominated in dollars, cents, and pence together.
Canadian & Provincial
Seated Liberty Half Dollar
U.S. 90% silver fifty-cent piece struck 1839–1891, with a seated figure of Liberty by Christian Gobrecht and a heraldic eagle reverse.
Half Dollar
Solidus of Valentinian II
A late Roman gold solidus struck for Valentinian II, showing his diademed profile with the obverse legend D N VALENTINIANVS, from the 380s AD.
Ancient
Solidus of Valens
A late Roman gold solidus struck for Valens, eastern emperor from AD 364 to 378, showing his diademed profile facing right.
Ancient
Solidus of Valentinian I
The gold solidus of Valentinian I (AD 364-375), a pure-gold coin bearing his pearl-diademed profile that anchored the late Roman monetary system.
Ancient
Solidus of Theodosius I
A late Roman gold solidus struck for the emperor Theodosius I (AD 379-395), showing his diademed portrait and the legend D N THEODOSIVS AVG.
Ancient
20 Francs Napoleon
A small 21 mm French gold coin bearing Napoleon III's profile and a wreathed 20 FRANCS reverse — the classic gold Napoleon, here dated 1857.
Bullion
Braided Hair Half Cent
The final U.S. half cent design, a small copper coin showing Liberty with braided hair and a coronet, paired with a wreath reverse, struck 1840–1857.
Half Cent
Solidus of Constantine I the Great
Constantine the Great's gold solidus, a high-purity coin struck from about AD 309 that became the standard of late Roman and Byzantine gold.
Ancient
Ghaznavid Dinar
Gold dinar of the Ghaznavid dynasty (c. 10th–11th century), an epigraphic Islamic coin struck at Ghazna and allied mints in Afghanistan.
Medieval Islamic
100 Lei
A scarce Kingdom of Romania gold 100 Lei of 1939, showing King Carol II in profile on the obverse and the crowned Romanian coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
Aureus of Marcus Aurelius
Small Roman gold coin of the reign of Marcus Aurelius; this piece shows a diademed portrait and a standing deity or personification, dated to 163 AD.
Ancient Coins
Solidus of Gratian
Late Roman gold solidus of Emperor Gratian (r. 367–383 CE), showing his curly-haired, diademed, draped and cuirassed portrait.
Ancient
100 Soles de Oro
Peru's largest gold Sol de Oro—a heavy .900 gold coin of the Lima Mint. This reverse-only 1965 example shows a fortress emblem and CASA DE MONEDA DE LIMA.
Circulation