Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
German Bremen Thaler
A silver thaler issued by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen before German unification, featuring the city's heraldic key, part of the patchwork of pre-1871 German state and city coinages.
European
Kyrene Silphium Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the North African Greek city of Kyrene featuring the now-extinct silphium plant, the source of the city's legendary wealth as a prized ancient medicinal herb.
Ancient
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
Syracuse Decadrachm
A large, exquisitely engraved silver coin from the Greek city of Syracuse, celebrated as one of the finest achievements of ancient Greek numismatic art, featuring the nymph Arethusa and a victorious chariot.
Ancient
Islamic Silver Dirham (Abbasid)
The standard silver coin of the Abbasid Caliphate, continuing the text-only Kufic script tradition and widely used across a vast medieval trade network stretching from Europe to Central Asia.
Ancient
Ottoman Silver Akce
A tiny silver coin that served as the basic everyday currency unit of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, gradually shrinking in size and silver content as inflation took hold.
World
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
Athenian Owl Dekadrachm
An extremely rare large-format silver coin of classical Athens, struck in only a handful of surviving examples and prized as one of the great rarities of ancient Greek numismatics.
Ancient
1975 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime
One of the rarest and most valuable modern US coin errors: a 1975 proof dime struck without its San Francisco 'S' mintmark, with only a handful of examples known.
Errors & Varieties
South African Republic Burgers Pond
The first coin struck for an independent South African state, issued in 1874 under President Thomas Burgers of the Transvaal, famous for its 'coarse beard' and 'fine beard' portrait varieties.
Africa & Oceania
Nero Denarius
The silver coin of the notorious emperor Nero, whose AD 64 currency reform slightly reduced the denarius's silver content and weight, a step in the long history of Roman debasement.
Ancient
Galerius Follis
Reform-era bronze follis of Galerius, Caesar and later Augustus of the eastern Tetrarchy, remembered for early persecution of Christians and his later Edict of Toleration issued just before his death.
Ancient
1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent
A famous key-date Lincoln cent struck at the Denver Mint in 1914 in a comparatively low quantity, making it one of the most sought-after dates in the series.
United States
1938-D Buffalo Nickel
The final year of the Buffalo Nickel series, the 1938-D was widely saved by the public at the time and remains a popular, affordable last-year issue for collectors.
United States
Flowing Hair Half Dime
One of the earliest United States silver coins, the Flowing Hair Half Dime was struck only in 1794 and 1795 and is a landmark rarity for early American coinage collectors.
United States
Byzantine Solidus
The gold standard coin of the Byzantine Empire for over 700 years, the solidus funded an empire, financed trade across three continents, and remained one of history's most stable currencies.
Ancient
Siam Tin Pot Duang / Porcelain Gambling Token
Two related forms of traditional Siamese small change: tin versions of the bent bullet-shaped pot duang currency, and porcelain gambling tokens used informally as local currency in Chinese-run gaming houses.
Asian
Brasher Doubloon
A famous privately struck gold coin made in 1787 by New York goldsmith Ephraim Brasher, a neighbor of George Washington, and one of the most valuable and celebrated coins in American numismatics.
United States
German 5 Mark Silver (Kaiserreich)
The 5 Mark was the largest circulating silver coin of the German Empire, issued by numerous constituent states and free cities, each with its own portrait or design under a common imperial system.
European
1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent
A Great Depression-era key date with a comparatively low mintage from the San Francisco Mint, long recognized as one of the more important dates in the Lincoln Wheat cent series.
United States
1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel Overdate
A famous overdate error on the Buffalo Nickel where a leftover 1917 working die was hand-repunched with an 1918 date, leaving traces of the underlying 7 visible beneath the 8.
Errors & Varieties
1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece
One of the great rarities of United States coinage: a Carson City twenty-cent piece of which nearly the entire mintage was melted, leaving only a small number of survivors known.
United States
1913 Liberty Head Nickel
One of the most famous rarities in American numismatics: only five examples exist of a Liberty Head nickel dated 1913, a year in which the design was officially replaced by the Buffalo nickel.
United States
1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent
A scarcer date-size variety of the 1970-S Lincoln cent featuring a smaller, lower-positioned 7 in the date compared to the more common large date variety struck the same year.
Errors & Varieties