Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Persian Gold Toman (Qajar)
The principal gold coin of Qajar Persia, valued at ten silver kran, struck under a succession of shahs from the late 18th century until the dynasty's end in 1925.
Asian
Venezuela 5 Bolivares 'Fuerte' Silver
A high-purity Venezuelan silver crown struck in 1911–1912, nicknamed the 'Fuerte' (strong) issue for restoring .900 fineness after decades of debased coinage.
Latin American
Portuguese Real
Portugal's centuries-old pre-decimal currency unit, used from the medieval era until the 1911 introduction of the escudo, also struck for Brazil and other colonies.
European
Sovereign (Ottawa Mint, C Mintmark)
British gold sovereigns struck at the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint between 1908 and 1919, marked with a small "C," making Canada part of the empire's global sovereign network.
Canadian
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
Victorian Silver Five Cents
The small sterling silver five-cent coin struck under Queen Victoria for the Province of Canada and later the Dominion of Canada, issued intermittently from 1858 to 1901.
Canadian
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
Reichsthaler
The standard large silver coin of the Holy Roman Empire and its constituent German states from the 16th century onward, whose name is the direct linguistic ancestor of the word 'dollar.'
European
Austrian Thaler (Joseph II)
A silver thaler bearing the portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, struck in the late 18th century and, like the more famous Maria Theresa thaler, later restruck for use in Levant and African trade.
European
Spade Guinea
A George III gold guinea nicknamed for its spade-shaped shield reverse, one of the last widely circulated guinea types before the denomination was phased out in the early 1800s.
British
Texas Independence Centennial Half Dollar
A commemorative half dollar marking the 100th anniversary of Texas independence from Mexico, featuring an eagle on a lone star and figures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin.
Commemorative
Classic Head Quarter Eagle
Struck from 1834 to 1839 after Congress reduced the gold weight of U.S. coins, this quarter eagle dropped the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM and features a simplified Liberty head.
United States
American Silver Eagle
The official one-ounce silver bullion coin of the United States, first struck in 1986, pairing Adolph Weinman's Walking Liberty design with a modern heraldic eagle.
Bullion
Pine Tree Shilling
Colonial Massachusetts silver shilling struck by John Hull and Robert Sanderson, famous for carrying the fixed date 1652 for roughly three decades of actual production.
United States
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
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
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
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
Barber Dime
A late-19th and early-20th century silver dime designed by Charles E. Barber, featuring a classical Liberty head, part of a matching set with the Barber quarter and half dollar.
United States
Half Crown
A long-lived British coin worth one-eighth of a pound, struck from the Tudor era until decimalisation in 1970, valued today mainly for its portraits and design variety.
British
Testoon
The earliest English coin to carry a realistic royal portrait, introduced under Henry VII around 1487 as the forerunner of the shilling, later continued and debased under Henry VIII.
British
Kai Yuan Tong Bao Cash
A landmark Tang dynasty cash coin whose four-character reign-title inscription became the standard template for Chinese, and much of East Asian, coinage for the next 1,300 years.
Ancient
Mexican 8 Reales Pillar Dollar
Minted in colonial Mexico City from 1732 to the early 1770s, the pillar dollar's crowned globes and Pillars of Hercules design made it one of the most widely trusted silver trade coins in the world.
Latin American