Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Counterstamped 2 Reales
A Spanish silver 2 reales dated 1803 that was later punched with a WR-and-crown counterstamp, giving it a second, borrowed life as legal tender.
Colonial
Antoninianus
Roman imperial coin of the crisis era, marked by a radiate (spiked) crown on the emperor's head; struck in debased silver-and-copper billon, c. 250-270 AD.
Ancient Coins
10 Para
Small Ottoman silver 10 Para dated AH 1280 (1863-1864), with the sultan's calligraphic tughra on one side and an ornamental Arabic-script inscription on the other.
Early Modern
Hanover-Luneburg 1.5 Thaler
A large silver 1.5 Thaler of Brunswick-Luneburg (Hanover), dated 1681, with a busy multi-shield heraldic design and the motto SOL BONA QUE HONESTA.
German States
French Half Ecu (Demi-Ecu)
A silver half ecu of Louis XVI dated 1792, with his bust left and a standing winged genius reverse reading L'AN 4 DE LA LIBERTE.
Royal
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
Iowa Centennial Half Dollar
A 1946 U.S. silver half dollar marking a century of Iowa statehood, showing the Old Stone Capitol at Iowa City and the state eagle with the Iowa motto.
Classic Commemorative
Missouri Centennial Half Dollar
A 1921 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 100 years of Missouri statehood, with a coonskin-capped frontiersman facing left and a frontier-scene reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar (1946–1951) honoring educator Booker T. Washington, the first African American portrayed on a U.S. coin.
Classic Commemorative
Seated Liberty Quarter
U.S. twenty-five-cent silver coin struck 1838–1891, showing Liberty seated with shield and staff on the obverse and a shield-breasted eagle on the reverse.
Quarter
Jefferson Nickel
U.S. five-cent piece introduced in 1938, showing Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and his Monticello home on the reverse. 1942–1945 issues are 35% silver.
Nickel Five Cent
Tymf
A debased Polish silver coin of 1663 tariffed at 30 groszy, famous for a Latin motto declaring the state's safety worth more than the metal.
Early Modern
Speciedaler
Large early-modern Norwegian silver crown of the Dano-Norwegian kingdom, showing a crowned royal bust and the Norwegian lion shield, dated 1628.
Early Modern
50 Korun
A 1944 silver 50 korun of the wartime Slovak State, showing the profile of Jozef Tiso and a shield with a double cross, struck for the state's fifth anniversary.
Modern
2 Lire
Silver 2 Lire of the Papal States struck under Pope Pius IX, part of the Italian lira system adopted by Rome in the 1860s.
Modern
Hanover 1/6 Thaler
A German States silver 1/6 Thaler of Hanover (Brunswick-Luneburg) dated 1688, showing the leaping Saxon Steed and a fractional-denomination reverse.
German States
French Cérès 5 Francs
A large silver French 5 francs showing the head of Cérès, goddess of the harvest, wearing a liberty cap, with the republican motto LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ.
Circulation
Bavaria 3 Mark
A silver 3 Mark tied to Bavaria, pairing the crowned Bavarian shield with its rampant lion against a German imperial eagle, dated 1925.
Circulation
South Africa 5 Shillings
A large 1952 South African silver crown marking Cape Town's 300th anniversary, with King George VI and a sailing-ship reverse.
Circulation
Constitutional Ecu
A French silver ecu of the constitutional-monarchy era showing King Louis XVI on the obverse and a standing armed Liberty figure on the reverse, dated 1792.
Revolutionary
Victoria Maundy Twopence
A tiny sterling-silver ceremonial coin from a Royal Maundy set. This 1845 example shows Victoria's young head and a crowned 2 in a wreath.
British Isles
Counterstamped 8 Reales
A Charles IV silver 8 reales later punched with counterstamps and pierced with a central hole, layering a second life onto the classic Spanish dollar.
Colonial
Hawaiian Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
A scarce 1928 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 150 years since Captain James Cook's arrival in the Hawaiian Islands.
Classic Commemorative
Cincinnati Music Center Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar honoring Cincinnati as a music center, with composer Stephen Foster on the obverse and an allegorical figure with a lyre on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative