Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Kuwaiti Fils
Kuwait's everyday subsidiary coinage, introduced after independence in 1961 as 1/1000 of the Kuwaiti dinar, featuring the Emir's name and national emblems across several denominations.
Asian
2008 Hawaii State Quarter
The final release of the 50 State Quarters Program, honoring Hawaii with an image of King Kamehameha I extending his hand over the Hawaiian islands.
United States
Massachusetts Cent (1787-1788)
State-issued copper coinage struck by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1787 and 1788, notable as the first official U.S. coinage to use the denomination 'cent'.
United States
Colombian Peso Silver
Colombia's traditional silver dollar-sized coin, struck across different eras of the country's political evolution, from Nueva Granada through the modern Republic of Colombia.
Latin American
Touchstone Sovereign (Fine Sovereign)
A large, high-value English gold coin struck in especially pure 'fine gold,' valued at thirty shillings and distinguished from the more common crown-gold Sovereign of the same era.
British
Netherlands 5 Gulden Gold
A gold 5 gulden coin struck intermittently by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, first under King William I in the 1820s and later as a rare 1912 commemorative under Queen Wilhelmina.
European
Japanese 50 Sen Silver (Meiji Phoenix)
An early Meiji-era Japanese silver coin featuring a coiled dragon on the obverse and a phoenix on the reverse, part of Japan's first modern decimal coinage system introduced after the Meiji Restoration.
Asian
Kellogg & Co. Gold Piece
Private gold coinage struck by the San Francisco firm Kellogg & Co. during the California Gold Rush, including the famous octagonal fifty-dollar 'slug' of 1855, filling a shortage of circulating coin.
United States
1939-S Jefferson Nickel
A scarce San Francisco Jefferson Nickel from the early series, notable for being one of two tougher 1939 issues and for a well-known doubled-die reverse variety showing a doubled MONTICELLO.
United States
Ryal
A large Scottish silver coin issued under Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, nicknamed the 'sword dollar' for the crowned sword on its reverse.
British
Edward VII Ten Cents
Canada's silver ten-cent coin struck during the brief reign of King Edward VII, bridging the Victorian and Georgian eras of Canadian coinage design.
Canadian
Saxon Speciestaler
Full-weight silver taler issued by the Electors and later Kings of Saxony, distinguished from lesser-value "current" talers used for everyday commerce.
European
1858 Victoria Five Cents (silver)
The first Canadian five-cent coin, a tiny sterling silver piece struck for the Province of Canada in 1858 when decimal currency was introduced to replace older colonial money.
Canadian
Ottoman Gold Sultani
The principal gold trade coin of the early Ottoman Empire, struck to match the weight and fineness of the Venetian ducat so it could compete in Mediterranean commerce.
World
Ephesus Bee Tetradrachm
A silver coin from the Ionian city of Ephesus featuring a bee, sacred symbol of the great Temple of Artemis, paired with a stag on the reverse.
Ancient
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
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
1999 New Jersey State Quarter
One of the original five 1999 State Quarters, honoring New Jersey with a rendition of Washington Crossing the Delaware, launching the wildly popular 50 State Quarters Program.
United States
Netherlands Rijksdaalder Gulden
The 2.5 guilder coin of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, carrying forward the historic rijksdaalder name through the monarchy era until the euro's adoption.
European
Argentine 8 Escudos Gold (1813)
An extremely rare gold coin from the earliest years of Argentine independence, struck briefly at Potosí under revolutionary authority and bearing the iconic Sun of May.
Latin American
Selinus (Selinunte) River God Tetradrachm
Silver coinage of the Sicilian city of Selinus, notable for depicting the local river god sacrificing at an altar, along with the celery leaf that puns on the city's name.
Ancient
1974 Aluminum Cent
An extremely rare experimental pattern struck in aluminum as a potential replacement for the copper cent amid rising metal costs, almost none of which were legally released to the public.
Errors & Varieties
Netherlands East Indies Gulden (Wilhelmina)
Dutch colonial silver gulden struck for the Netherlands East Indies bearing the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina, the standard coin of Dutch-ruled Indonesia.
Asian