Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Counterstamped 8 Reales
A Charles IV silver 8 reales later punched with counterstamps and pierced with a central hole, layering a second life onto the classic Spanish dollar.
Colonial
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin
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
Oaxaca 20 Centavos
A copper 20 centavos struck by revolutionary-era Oaxaca in 1915, showing a profiled bust on a round base and a large numeral 20 with the Mexican eagle.
Revolutionary
Guangdong 20 Cents
A silver 20-cent coin of Kwangtung (Guangdong) province, struck under the Guangxu Emperor with a coiled dragon on one side and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation
20 Francs (Leopold II)
Belgium's gold 20 francs under King Leopold II, a small Latin Monetary Union coin with the bearded king's profile and the crowned national arms.
Modern
Capped Bust Half Eagle
Early U.S. five-dollar gold coin with a left-facing capped Liberty and a shield-breasted eagle marked "5 D."; the 1822 shown is a legendary rarity.
United States
Sierra Leone 20 Cents
A 1964 Sierra Leone 20 cents from the country's first decimal coinage, showing a portrait profile on one side and the national coat of arms with its lion on the other.
World
Indonesia 200 Rupiah
A lightweight aluminium Indonesian 200-rupiah coin: the Garuda Pancasila emblem on one side and a perched Bali Starling (Jalak Bali) with the value 200 on the other.
Southeast Asia
Turban Head Half Eagle
First U.S. gold $5 coin, 1795: Liberty in a soft cap facing right, with a heraldic shield-breasted eagle reverse struck in 22-karat gold.
Half Eagle
Silver Dirham (LACMA M.2002.1.437)
A thin, broad 8th-century Islamic silver dirham covered in Kufic Arabic inscriptions, with no portrait or image — only religious legends and decorative flourishes.
Islamic (Medieval)
Medal of Honor Commemorative Half Eagle
US 2011 gold $5 commemorative honoring the Medal of Honor, showing the Army version of the medal above a Corinthian column.
Commemoratives
Egyptian 20 Piastres Commemorative
A cupro-nickel Egyptian 20 piastres commemorative dated 1980, with an ornate Arabic calligraphic obverse and a heraldic double-headed eagle reverse.
World
Philippines 20 Centavos
A small wartime silver 20 centavos of the Commonwealth-era Philippines: a standing Liberty figure and Mayon volcano, with an eagle over a shield on the reverse.
Southeast Asia
Philippines 25 Centavos
Silvery base-metal 25 centavos of the young Republic of the Philippines, dated 1958: a standing figure with a liberty torch and the Republic's sunburst coat of arms.
Southeast Asia
Guangxu Yuanbao 20 Cents
A machine-struck Qing silver 20 cents of the Guangxu era, with a coiled dragon on one face and a yin-yang (taiji) symbol on the other.
Circulation
Aguascalientes 20 Centavos
A copper 20 centavos struck in Aguascalientes during the Mexican Revolution in 1915, showing the denomination on one side and a large numeral 20 with the national eagle on the other.
Revolutionary
Guangxu Yuanbao 50 Cents
A Qing-dynasty silver half-dollar bearing the legend Guangxu Yuanbao and a coiled dragon, struck by Chinese provincial mints during the Guangxu Emperor's reign.
Circulation
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
Gambia 20 Dalasis (Mungo Park Commemorative)
A 1994 silver 20 dalasis crown from The Gambia honoring Scottish explorer Mungo Park, shown with a sailing ship on the reverse.
World
Austria 25 Euro Silver-Niobium Commemorative
Bi-metallic 25 Euro of the Austrian Mint with a silver outer ring and a colored niobium core; the 2003 first issue honored the town of Hall in Tirol.
Commemorative
Panama-Pacific Exposition Quarter Eagle
A 1915 gold $2.50 commemorative for San Francisco's Panama-Pacific Exposition, showing Columbia astride a hippocamp and an eagle on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Israel 1 Agora (Bank of Israel 25th Anniversary)
A small 1980 aluminum-bronze 1 Agora of Israel, tied to the Bank of Israel's 25th anniversary, with grain ears on one face and the value 1 with Hebrew legend on the other.
World
Islamic Gold Dinar (LACMA M.2006.143.8)
A medieval Islamic gold dinar in the LACMA collection, struck with purely calligraphic Arabic legends and a decorative border — the classic imageless coin of the caliphates.
Islamic (Medieval)