Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1965 Silver Washington Quarter (Transitional Error)
An extremely rare transitional error in which a 1965-dated quarter, meant to be struck in new copper-nickel clad metal, was accidentally struck on a leftover 90% silver planchet.
Errors & Varieties
British Crown
Valued at five shillings, the British crown is a large silver (and later cupro-nickel) coin with a production history stretching from Tudor England to modern commemorative issues.
British
Two Pound Coin
The UK's bimetallic £2 coin, standardized for circulation in the late 1990s, widely used for a rotating series of commemorative reverse designs.
British
2010 Hot Springs America the Beautiful Quarter
The first coin in the America the Beautiful Quarters series, honoring Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas with an image of its historic bathhouse row.
United States
Gold Britannia
The United Kingdom's premier gold bullion coin series, launched in 1987, featuring Britannia on the reverse and available in one-ounce and fractional weights.
Bullion
Somali Elephant Gold
The gold version of Somalia's popular African Wildlife elephant coin series, produced by the Bavarian State Mint with a design refreshed nearly every year.
Bullion
Australian Silver Kangaroo
Perth Mint's annually redesigned silver bullion coin featuring a different kangaroo motif each year, popular alongside the Gold Kangaroo series.
Bullion
Australian Silver Koala
A Perth Mint silver bullion coin featuring an annually changing depiction of the koala, launched in 2007 as a companion series to the long-running Silver Kookaburra.
Bullion
Vespasian Denarius
The silver coin of Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, notably including the famous 'Judaea Capta' series commemorating Rome's suppression of the Jewish revolt.
Ancient
Lincoln Bicentennial Cent (2009)
A one-year series of four different reverse designs issued in 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth and the centennial of the Lincoln cent.
Commemorative
Somalia Elephant Silver Coin
A popular annually-redesigned bullion coin issued in the name of Somalia depicting an African elephant, part of a broader African Wildlife series struck by a German mint.
Africa & Oceania
Philip the Arab Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Philip the Arab, notable for celebrating Rome's 1,000th anniversary in 248 AD with a memorable series of animal-themed 'Saecular Games' reverse types.
Ancient
New Zealand Half Crown (pre-decimal)
The largest denomination in New Zealand's regular pre-decimal coin series, featuring the national coat of arms, circulated from 1933 until decimalization in 1967.
Africa & Oceania
Chinese Platinum Panda
China's platinum bullion coin series, sister to the famous Gold Panda, featuring a new panda design nearly every year since its 1987 debut.
Bullion
Massachusetts Willow Tree Shilling
The rarest of Massachusetts Bay's tree-series colonial shillings, struck in secret defiance of English law and all frozen with the date 1652 regardless of actual striking year.
United States
Panormus Siculo-Punic Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm struck at Panormus under Carthaginian control in Sicily, blending Greek artistic style with Punic legends, a hallmark of the distinctive Siculo-Punic coinage series.
Ancient
Swiss 5 Francs Shooting Thaler
A series of commemorative Swiss silver crowns struck to mark the national Federal Shooting Festival, celebrating Switzerland's civic militia tradition through distinctive cantonal designs.
European
Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf
The Royal Canadian Mint's palladium bullion coin, sharing the Maple Leaf design used across Canada's precious metal series, produced intermittently since 2005.
Bullion
Australian Koala (Perth Mint)
A bullion coin series from Australia's Perth Mint featuring a different koala design nearly every year, prized by collectors for its changing artwork and high purity.
Bullion
Trajan Decius Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Trajan Decius, remembered for his empire-wide persecution of Christians and his death in battle against the Goths, and for a famous series honoring deified past emperors.
Ancient
Coronet Large Cent
A large copper cent series featuring Liberty wearing a coronet, produced through the "Matron Head" and "Young Head" phases before the Braided Hair design took over.
United States
American Gold Eagle
The official U.S. gold bullion coin series since 1986, pairing Augustus Saint-Gaudens' famous Liberty design with a family-of-eagles reverse, issued in four sizes.
Bullion
Chilean 20 Pesos Gold
The smallest of Chile's regular gold coin denominations, issued both in an earlier 19th-century gold peso series and later as part of the 1926 condor-themed gold reform.
Latin American
Hawaiian Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
A rare, low-mintage 1928 commemorative half dollar marking 150 years since Captain James Cook's arrival in Hawaii, considered a key rarity of the classic commemorative series.
Commemorative