Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1948 Franklin Half Dollar
The debut year of the Franklin half dollar, featuring Benjamin Franklin's portrait and the Liberty Bell, designed by Mint engraver John R. Sinnock.
United States
1793 Chain Cent
The very first cent struck for circulation by the U.S. Mint, dated 1793, famous for its short-lived and controversial 15-link chain reverse.
United States
1944 Steel Cent
A rare Lincoln cent mistakenly struck on leftover steel planchets in 1944, the reverse counterpart to the famous 1943 bronze cent error.
Errors & Varieties
Flying Eagle Cent
The first small-size U.S. cent, introduced in 1856 to replace the large copper cent, featuring a flying eagle obverse designed by James B. Longacre.
United States
Spanish 8 Reales (Piece of Eight)
The legendary 'piece of eight,' Spain's silver dollar-sized coin that became the world's first truly global currency and the direct ancestor of the U.S. dollar.
World
Isle of Man Noble (Platinum)
The world's first modern platinum bullion coin, struck for the Isle of Man government by Pobjoy Mint, featuring a Viking longship reverse.
Bullion
Venezuela Bolivar Silver (Bolívar Fuerte)
A large silver five-bolívares coin nicknamed the "fuerte" (strong) for its full weight and fineness, featuring a portrait of independence hero Simón Bolívar.
Latin American
Chilean 50 Pesos Gold
A mid-sized Chilean gold coin issued as part of the 1926 gold standard reform, sharing the condor design theme with its larger and smaller companion denominations.
Latin American
Brazilian 2000 Reis Silver
The largest common silver coin of the Brazilian Empire, bearing the portrait of Emperor Pedro II across several design types spanning his long reign.
Latin American
Sumatra EIC Keping (British Bencoolen)
A small tin or copper coin struck by the British East India Company for its Bencoolen settlement on Sumatra, denominated in the local unit called the keping.
Asian
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
French Franc Germinal
Not a single coin but the bimetallic monetary standard fixed by Napoleon's 1803 law, defining the franc's silver and gold content for over a century.
European
Spanish 20 Pesetas Gold (Alfonso XII)
Spain's standard gold coin of the Latin Monetary Union era, struck under King Alfonso XII following the restoration of the Spanish monarchy in the 1870s.
European
French 2 Francs (Silver)
A workhorse French silver denomination struck across the Napoleonic, Restoration, and Republican eras, later famous for the Semeuse (Sower) design.
European
German 3 Mark Silver
A large silver coin of Imperial Germany, issued by the various constituent states with distinct rulers' portraits and commemorative designs.
European
1964 Charlottetown-Quebec Silver Dollar
A commemorative Canadian silver dollar marking the centennial of the 1864 Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences that laid the groundwork for Canadian Confederation.
Canadian
Constantius I Chlorus Follis
Reform-era bronze follis of Constantius I Chlorus, Caesar and later Augustus of the western Tetrarchy, remembered chiefly as the father of Constantine the Great.
Ancient
Segesta Hound Tetradrachm
Silver coin of Segesta in western Sicily, an Elymian city whose coinage features a hunting hound, linked to local legend of the river god Krimisos.
Ancient
Cyzicus Electrum Stater
An electrum stater from the trading city of Cyzicus on the Sea of Marmara, part of one of the most important and long-lived precious-metal trade currencies of the ancient world.
Ancient
Akragas (Agrigentum) Eagle and Crab Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the wealthy Sicilian city of Akragas, pairing an eagle, symbol of Zeus, with a river crab representing the city's local waterways.
Ancient
Eisenhower Dollar
A large copper-nickel clad dollar (1971-1978) honoring President Dwight D. Eisenhower and commemorating the Apollo 11 moon landing on its reverse.
United States
Flowing Hair Chain Cent
The first cent struck for circulation by the United States Mint, showing Liberty with flowing hair and a controversial 15-link chain on the reverse.
United States
Indian Head Gold Quarter Eagle ($2.50)
A small early 20th-century $2.50 gold coin notable for its incuse design and Native American war bonnet portrait, designed by sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt.
United States
Merovingian Gold Tremissis
A small gold coin of the Merovingian Frankish kingdom, worth one-third of a solidus, often naming the local moneyer who struck it rather than the reigning king.
European