Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Norfolk Bicentennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar honoring Norfolk, Virginia, with the city's Royal Mace on the reverse and dates 1636-1936; a low-mintage classic commemorative.
Classic Commemorative
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar celebrating the opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, with a bridge span and a California grizzly bear.
Classic Commemorative
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
British Silver Threepence
Tiny sterling-silver threepence of Queen Victoria; the young-head type shown here dates to 1858 and is one of Britain's smallest circulating coins.
British Isles
Gold Sovereign
The British gold sovereign: a one-pound gold coin. This 1817 George III example shows a laureate bust and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms.
World
Una and the Lion Five Pounds
William Wyon's 1839 gold Five Pounds pairs a young Queen Victoria with Una guiding a lion — widely praised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
British Isles
Quarter Farthing
Tiny copper coin of Queen Victoria worth one-sixteenth of a penny, struck for use in Ceylon; the smallest-value British denomination ever made.
British Isles
Belgian Congo 1 Franc
An early silver franc struck for the Congo under King Leopold II, pairing a laureate portrait with grain stalks and the value.
World
Pine Tree Shilling
Silver shilling from the Boston mint, struck about 1667–1674 but dated 1652, showing a pine tree beside the legend MASSACHUSETTS.
Colonial
New Zealand Penny
New Zealand's large bronze pre-decimal penny, with George VI on the obverse and a tui bird perched among fern fronds on the reverse.
New Zealand
Trinidad and Tobago 1 Dollar
A nickel-plated steel one-dollar coin of Trinidad and Tobago, carrying the national coat of arms and heraldic emblems, dated 2015.
Circulation
Macao 1 Pataca
A silver-colored 1 Pataca circulation coin of Macao dated 2007, showing Chinese characters and denomination on one face and a lighthouse-and-harbor scene on the other.
Circulation
Barbados 1 Cent
A modern copper-colored Barbados one cent: the national coat of arms on the obverse and the value on the reverse, the smallest coin of the Barbadian dollar.
Circulation
Nigeria 1 Naira
Nigeria's copper-nickel 1 Naira showing the nationalist Herbert Macaulay on the obverse and the national coat of arms on the reverse.
World
Trinidad and Tobago 1 Cent
The small copper-colored one cent of Trinidad and Tobago, with a hummingbird obverse and a plain value-and-name reverse.
Circulation
Ghana 1 Cedi
A golden-brass Ghanaian coin dated 1979, showing a cocoa pod with FREEDOM AND JUSTICE on one face and the national coat of arms on the other.
World
1 Yen (Silver)
An early Meiji silver 1 Yen struck in Meiji 3 (1870), showing a coiled dragon with a radiant sun on one side and a wreathed imperial crest on the other.
Circulation
English Shilling
English silver shilling of William III, showing his right-facing laureate bust and a crowned cruciform-shield reverse; this example is dated 1692.
World Coin
Gold Chervonets
Soviet gold coin of 1923 worth one chervonets (10 rubles), showing a peasant sowing before a rising sun and factories, with the Soviet state emblem.
World
Egyptian 1 Pound
An Egyptian cupro-nickel 1 Pound commemorative marking World Food Day 1981, its reverse showing standing figures with wheat sheaves.
World
India 1 Rupee Commemorative
Copper-nickel Republic of India one rupee showing the Ashoka Lion Capital emblem, with the value and Devanagari legends on the reverse, from the late 20th century.
Modern India
1 Penni
Finland's smallest post-1963 coin: a tiny light base-metal piece with a bold numeral 1 and SUOMI on the front and a geometric line pattern on the back.
World
1 Hwan
A late-Joseon Korean bronze coin of one hwan, carrying a chrysanthemum-and-cartouche obverse and a traditional dragon motif with East Asian characters on the reverse.
Historic
1 Markka
Finland's bimetallic one-markka coin (1993–2001), with a crowned heraldic lion on one face and a large numeral 1 on the other.
World