Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British Sovereign (modern proof)
Contemporary proof-quality gold sovereign struck by the Royal Mint, continuing Benedetto Pistrucci's St George and the dragon reverse design used since the early 19th century.
British
Half Farthing
A tiny copper coin worth one-eighth of a penny, struck mainly for use in colonial Ceylon during the reigns of George IV, William IV, and Victoria.
British
US Olympic Commemorative Dollar (1983)
The first coin in a two-year US commemorative program supporting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the 1983 silver dollar features a discus-thrower design and marked a revival of American commemorative coinage.
Commemorative
Canadian Colored Maple Leaf
A colorized variant of Canada's iconic Maple Leaf bullion coin, applying vivid printed designs over the standard maple leaf or themed reverse to create eye-catching collector editions.
Canadian
Gold Half Sovereign
Smaller companion to the gold sovereign, struck since 1817 at half the weight and value, sharing the same monarch portraits and often the same St George reverse design.
British
Australian Lunar Series (Perth Mint)
Modern Australian bullion and collector coin series from the Perth Mint featuring a different Chinese zodiac animal each year, popular worldwide with precious metal collectors.
Bullion
Argentina 8 Reales
Silver 8 reales struck after Argentina's 1810 independence movement, replacing the Spanish king's portrait with the revolutionary Sun of May and clasped hands design.
Latin American
1936 Dot Cent
One of Canada's rarest coins: a 1936-dated cent quietly struck in 1937 with a tiny raised dot below the date after King Edward VIII's abdication delayed new George VI dies.
Canadian
Half Guinea
Smaller companion gold coin to the guinea, worth half its value, struck across the same reigns from Charles II through George III for mid-value transactions.
British
Brasher Doubloon
A famous privately struck gold coin made in 1787 by New York goldsmith Ephraim Brasher, a neighbor of George Washington, and one of the most valuable and celebrated coins in American numismatics.
United States
Rosa Americana Coinage
A British-issued colonial coinage for America under a patent granted to William Wood, showing a rose and King George I, that was widely rejected by colonists for its poor metal and overvaluation.
United States
Kwangtung Province Dragon Dollar
One of the earliest Chinese machine-struck silver dollars, issued by Kwangtung Province and featuring a coiled dragon reverse that became the template for Chinese provincial dollar coinage.
Asian
Mexican 8 Reales Cap and Rays
The classic silver dollar of independent Mexico, showing a radiant Phrygian liberty cap over mountains, widely trusted and traded across the Americas and Asia for most of the 19th century.
Latin American
Korean Gwangmu Half Won (1905)
Silver half-won coin from the short-lived Korean Empire's Gwangmu currency reform, struck shortly before Korea fell under increasing Japanese control.
Asian
British Gold Sovereign
Historic British gold coin featuring Saint George slaying the dragon, minted since 1817 and still struck today as both a circulation-era relic and modern bullion/collector coin.
British
Five Guinea
The largest regularly issued gold denomination of the guinea coinage system, worth five guineas, struck from the reign of Charles II through George II for major transactions and presentation purposes.
British
Two Guinea (Double Guinea)
A substantial gold coin worth two guineas, struck intermittently from the reign of Charles II through George II as part of England and Great Britain's early guinea coinage system.
British
2008 Beijing Olympics Commemorative Coins
China issued a large multi-year coin program ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, spanning circulating 1 Yuan pieces and extensive gold and silver proof series depicting Olympic sports and Beijing landmarks.
Commemorative
1878 7/8 Tail Feathers Morgan Dollar
A famous first-year Morgan dollar variety showing an eagle with 7 tail feathers struck over an earlier 8-feather design, resulting from a mid-year design revision by chief engraver George T. Morgan.
Errors & Varieties
Yuan Shih-kai Dollar ("Fat Man Dollar")
A widely circulated Republic of China silver dollar bearing the portrait of President Yuan Shikai, nicknamed the "Fat Man Dollar" for his rounded features and became China's standard silver coin for years.
Asian
Bolivia 8 Reales (Potosi Mint)
A major Spanish colonial and early Bolivian silver dollar struck at the legendary Potosí mint, fed by the immense silver deposits of the Cerro Rico mountain.
Latin American
Joachimsthaler
Struck beginning in 1520 in the Bohemian silver-mining town of Joachimsthal, this large silver coin gave its name, shortened to 'thaler' and later 'dollar,' to countless currencies around the world.
European
Spanish Colonial Cob 8 Reales (Macuquina)
A crudely hand-struck Spanish colonial silver coin, cut from irregular silver bars and stamped with a cross and shield, famed worldwide as the original 'piece of eight'.
Latin American
Seated Liberty Dollar
A mid-19th century silver dollar depicting Liberty seated on a rock, the standard large silver dollar of the United States before the Trade dollar and Morgan dollar.
United States