Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
War Nickel (Silver 1942-1945 Jefferson Nickel)
A special wartime Jefferson Nickel alloy struck without nickel metal to conserve it for military use, identifiable by a large mintmark placed above Monticello's dome.
United States
1953 Coronation Voyageur Dollar
The first Canadian silver dollar of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, issued in her coronation year, featuring the classic Voyageur canoe reverse and known for two collectible obverse varieties.
Canadian
1916 Walking Liberty Half Dollar
First-year strike of Adolph Weinman's celebrated Walking Liberty design, prized by collectors for its beauty and for the obverse mintmark unique to 1916 and early 1917.
United States
1949 King George VI Silver Dollar
A one-year Canadian silver dollar issued to mark Newfoundland's entry into Confederation, depicting John Cabot's ship the Matthew on the reverse.
Canadian
1921 Walking Liberty Half Dollar
The three 1921 mintmark varieties are the acknowledged key dates of the Walking Liberty half dollar series, each struck in unusually small numbers.
United States
1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar
A low-mintage Denver issue widely regarded as the key date of the later Walking Liberty half dollar run, second in scarcity only to the 1921 dates.
United States
1999 Pennsylvania State Quarter
The second release in the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program, honoring Pennsylvania with a design featuring the state's outline, a keystone, and the Commonwealth statue.
Commemorative
1942 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent
A doubled die obverse variety of the 1942 Lincoln cent showing visible doubling in the date and motto, caused by a misaligned hubbing impression during die preparation.
Errors & Varieties
1936 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent
A collectible doubled die variety on the 1936 Lincoln wheat cent, known in a stronger, scarcer form and a weaker, more common form, both showing doubling in the obverse lettering.
Errors & Varieties
1921 Fifty Cents (King of Canadian Coins)
Canada's most famous rarity, the 1921 fifty-cent piece survives in only a small number of known examples after most of its mintage was melted, earning it the nickname King of Canadian Coins.
Canadian
1943/2-P Jefferson Nickel Overdate
A wartime Jefferson nickel overdate variety in which traces of an underlying 2 can be seen beneath the 3 in the date, created when a working die was re-hubbed with a different year's date.
Errors & Varieties
1964 Kennedy Half Dollar (90% Silver)
The first-year Kennedy half dollar, rushed into production after President Kennedy's assassination, struck only in 1964 with a 90% silver composition before the alloy was reduced.
United States
1965 Kennedy Half Dollar (40% silver)
A transitional Kennedy half dollar struck with reduced 40% silver content after the Coinage Act of 1965 eliminated silver from dimes and quarters, honoring the assassinated president.
United States
Ottoman Para
A small fractional Ottoman coin, historically 1/40 of a kurus, struck for centuries in varying metals as the empire's lowest everyday denomination.
World
1873 Open 3 vs Closed 3 Indian Head Cent
Two distinct date logotype varieties of the 1873 Indian Head cent, distinguished by whether the top loop of the final 3 in the date is nearly closed or clearly open.
Errors & Varieties
1859 Indian Head Cent (Laurel Wreath)
The first-year Indian Head cent, struck only in 1859 with a distinctive laurel wreath reverse that was replaced by an oak wreath and shield the following year.
United States
1823/2 Capped Bust Quarter Overdate
One of the rarest die varieties in the entire United States quarter series, the 1823/2 overdate shows a 3 punched over a leftover 2, from an extremely limited production run.
Errors & Varieties
1969-S Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent
A famous and dramatic doubled die obverse Lincoln cent from the San Francisco Mint, showing strong, easily visible doubling and ranking among the most valuable Lincoln cent doubled die varieties.
Errors & Varieties
1951 Nickel Commemorative Five Cents
A special Canadian five-cent coin marking the 200th anniversary of the isolation of the element nickel, struck in the metal itself to honor Canada's role as a leading nickel producer.
Commemorative
1883 With Cents Liberty Head Nickel
The corrected version of the 1883 Liberty Head Nickel with CENTS added below the wreath, issued later the same year to stop widespread gold-plating fraud tied to the earlier No Cents design.
United States
French Indochina Sarraut Piastre (1931)
A reduced-weight silver piastre introduced in 1931 for French Indochina after rising world silver prices made the older, larger trade piastre worth more in bullion than in face value.
Asian
Australian 50 Cent (round 1966 silver)
Australia's original round 50-cent coin from the 1966 decimal changeover, struck in 80% silver and withdrawn the same year once its bullion value exceeded face value.
Africa & Oceania
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
1971 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent
A doubled die obverse Lincoln cent from 1971 showing clear doubling in the date and lettering, one of several notable doubled die varieties struck during the early 1970s.
Errors & Varieties