Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
U.S. Gold Five Dollar (Half Eagle)
Modern U.S. $5 gold coin: Saint-Gaudens striding Liberty with torch on the obverse and a soaring eagle reverse; this piece is dated 1987.
UsKrugerrand
South Africa's 1 oz gold bullion coin, with Paul Kruger's portrait on the obverse and a leaping springbok on the reverse; this piece is dated 1975.
BullionHawaii State Quarter
The 2008 Hawaii State Quarter, final coin in the 50 State Quarters series, showing King Kamehameha I reaching over the islands.
QuarterIndian Head Gold Dollar
Tiny U.S. one-dollar gold coin (1854–1889) with an Indian-princess Liberty in a feathered headdress and a denomination-and-date wreath reverse.
Gold DollarEighth Thistle Merk
A small hammered silver Scottish coin of James VI, showing a crowned heraldic shield of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
HammeredFive Guineas of George II
The largest English gold coin of George II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms on the reverse.
MilledCharles I Twenty Pence
A small hammered silver twenty-pence coin of Charles I, showing his crowned profile and a heraldic reverse with rose and thistle badges.
HammeredGhana 1 Cedi
A golden-brass Ghanaian coin dated 1979, showing a cocoa pod with FREEDOM AND JUSTICE on one face and the national coat of arms on the other.
WorldIslamic Gold Dinar (LACMA M.2006.143.8)
A medieval Islamic gold dinar in the LACMA collection, struck with purely calligraphic Arabic legends and a decorative border — the classic imageless coin of the caliphates.
Islamic (Medieval)Spanish Colonial Half Real
The smallest milled silver coin of Spain's American empire: a tiny 1/2 real with a royal bust and the crowned arms between pillars.
ColonialSpanish Colonial 4 Reales
A large silver colonial coin worth half a Spanish dollar, struck for Spain's American empire and bearing the crowned Spanish royal arms.
ColonialKiautschou 5 Cents
A 1909 nickel 5 Cent coin of the German-leased Kiautschou Bay territory in China, pairing Chinese characters with the German imperial eagle.
ColonialJalisco 5 Centavos
A small copper 5-centavos coin issued by the Mexican state of Jalisco in 1915 during the Revolution, with a large numeral 5 and the national eagle.
Revolutionary1 Grosz
A small 1949 Polish one-grosz coin bearing the crownless national eagle and RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA, with the value 1 GROSZ framed by grain on the reverse.
ModernHryvnia
Medieval silver money unit of Kievan Rus, circulating as cast silver ingots and weight-money rather than as a struck, portrait-bearing coin.
MedievalEscudo (Joanna and Charles V, contemporary copy)
A contemporary gilded copper-alloy copy imitating a Spanish gold escudo of Joanna and Charles V, made to pass as the real Habsburg gold coin.
Early Modern20 Fillér
An early 20th-century Hungarian 20 fillér, a small base-metal coin showing the crowned Hungarian coat of arms and the FILLÉR minor denomination.
ModernErstein Notgeld 10 Pfennigs
A 1917 German emergency coin (Notgeld) for 10 Pfennigs from the town of Erstein, with the city coat of arms on one side and a large 10 on the other.
Token/notgeldBermuda Edward VIII Fantasy Crown
A modern fantasy Bermuda crown dated 1936 with an Edward VIII profile and a three-masted sailing ship; a gold-plated novelty, not an official coin.
Fantasy IssueFive Guineas of Anne
Queen Anne's largest gold coin, the celebrated 1703 issue struck with VIGO below the bust from gold captured at the Battle of Vigo Bay.
MilledVictoria One Rupee
Silver 1-rupee coin of British India bearing Queen Victoria's crowned bust, struck from 1862 to 1901 under Crown rule.
British IndiaAnglo-Saxon Styca
A tiny base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, struck in the 8th-9th century with a head and inscription on one side and a cross on the other.
Medieval CoinsPhilippines 50 Centavos
A 1960s Philippine 50-centavos coin in copper-nickel, its obverse showing an allegorical woman with a torch and its reverse the national coat of arms.
Southeast AsiaSesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle
A 1926 U.S. commemorative $2.50 gold coin marking 150 years of American independence, with Liberty holding a torch and scroll and Independence Hall on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative