Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Braided Hair Large Cent
The final large cent design, showing Liberty with braided hair, produced until the bulky copper cent was replaced by the small Flying Eagle cent in 1857.
United States
Nickel Three-Cent Piece
A post-Civil War small coin struck in copper-nickel to replace the fragile silver three-cent piece and small-denomination paper currency then in circulation.
United States
Two-Cent Piece
A short-lived Civil War-era coin notable as the first U.S. coin to bear the motto 'IN GOD WE TRUST,' issued to help ease a wartime coin shortage.
United States
Silver Three-Cent Piece (Trime)
A tiny silver coin created to match the new 3-cent postage rate, the trime is the smallest-diameter coin ever struck by the U.S. Mint.
United States
1864 Two-Cent Piece
The debut year of the two-cent piece, the first US coin to bear the motto In God We Trust, issued in Small Motto and Large Motto varieties.
United States
1873 Two-Cent Piece (Proof Only)
The final year of the two-cent piece, struck only in proof for collectors rather than for circulation, and split into Closed 3 and Open 3 date varieties.
United States
Fasces Three-Cent Nickel
A nickname sometimes applied to the copper-nickel Three-Cent Piece of 1865-1889, whose reverse wreath-and-numeral design is occasionally likened to classical fasces imagery from early pattern experiments.
United States
Bronze Indian Head Cent
The bronze-alloy Indian Head cent struck from 1864 through 1909, replacing the earlier copper-nickel version and serving as the last cent design before Lincoln's portrait appeared in 1909.
United States
1796 Half Cent
One of the great rarities of American copper coinage, the 1796 half cent was struck in the Liberty Cap design in a very limited quantity, with 'With Pole' and rarer 'No Pole' varieties known.
United States
Classic Head Half Cent
A half cent design used from 1809 to 1836, featuring a Liberty head with a headband inscribed LIBERTY, succeeding the Draped Bust type.
United States
1922 No D Lincoln Cent
A famous Lincoln cent error from Denver where a worn or clogged die produced cents lacking the D mint mark, since Denver was the sole mint striking cents that year.
Errors & Varieties
1969-S Doubled Die Lincoln Cent
A rare and valuable San Francisco Mint doubled die error from 1969, showing strong hub doubling on the obverse date and lettering.
Errors & Varieties
Lincoln Shield Cent
The current Lincoln cent reverse, introduced in 2010, depicts a Union shield replacing the earlier Lincoln Memorial design as the fourth reverse in the cent's history.
United States
1856 Flying Eagle Cent
An extremely rare pattern-like small cent struck to convince Congress to approve a new, smaller cent design, and one of the most desired key dates in U.S. coinage.
United States
Classic Head Half Eagle ($5)
A short-lived early American gold five-dollar coin created after the Coinage Act of 1834 reduced gold coin weight to keep coins in circulation rather than being melted.
United States
Three-Dollar Gold Piece
An unusual and short-lived gold denomination created partly to simplify buying sheets of three-cent postage stamps, now a favorite oddity among gold coin collectors.
United States
Turban Head Eagle
The first U.S. $10 gold coin, struck 1795-1804 and nicknamed 'Turban Head' for Liberty's cap-like headdress; the earliest examples pair her portrait with a small, spread-winged eagle.
United States
Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1924 U.S. commemorative half dollar honoring the 300th anniversary of Huguenot and Walloon settlement in New Netherland.
Commemorative
Missouri Centennial Half Dollar
A 1921 U.S. commemorative half dollar marking Missouri's centennial of statehood, known for a scarcer '2★4' variety.
Commemorative
Pilgrim Tercentenary Half Dollar
A commemorative half dollar marking the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth, featuring a bust of William Bradford and the ship Mayflower.
Commemorative
Grant Memorial Half Dollar
A 1922 U.S. commemorative half dollar honoring the 100th anniversary of Ulysses S. Grant's birth, famous for a rare 'star' variety.
Commemorative
Arkansas Centennial Half Dollar
A commemorative half dollar marking Arkansas's 100th anniversary of statehood, pairing a Native American profile with an idealized Liberty figure on the obverse.
Commemorative
Stone Mountain Memorial Half Dollar
A 1925 commemorative half dollar depicting Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson on horseback, issued to fund the massive Stone Mountain carving in Georgia.
Commemorative
Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar
A long-running commemorative honoring the Oregon Trail pioneers, featuring an acclaimed design of a Conestoga wagon and a Native American figure by Fraser and Fraser.
Commemorative