Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Eighth 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.
Hammered
Lincoln Memorial Cent
U.S. one-cent piece struck 1959–2008 with Lincoln's profile and a Memorial reverse; 1982 is the split year between bronze and copper-plated zinc.
Small Cent
Half Thistle Merk
A hammered Scottish silver half merk of James VI, showing a crowned coat of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Pahlavi Reign Gold Medal
A gold medal of Pahlavi-era Iran, its obverse a left-facing royal portrait and its reverse the Lion and Sun beneath a crown, dated 1971.
Persia / Iran
Austrian Award Medal
A silver Austrian award medal with a crowned double-headed eagle bearing a coat of arms on the obverse and a decorative heraldic shield on the reverse.
Medal
King's Silver Jubilee Medal
British 1935 commemorative medal with overlaid profiles of King George V and Queen Mary and a castle reverse marking the Silver Jubilee.
Medals & Tokens
Colombia 8 Escudos (Base Metal)
A base-metal (copper-alloy) piece styled after the colonial Colombian 8 escudos gold onza, with a Charles III profile and crowned heraldic arms dated 1760.
Colonial
McKinley Memorial Gold Dollar
A small U.S. gold commemorative dollar honoring President William McKinley, sold to fund the memorial at his Niles, Ohio birthplace.
Classic Commemorative
Medieval Halfgroat of Henry VII
Hammered silver twopence of England's first Tudor king, with a crowned royal portrait and a long-cross reverse over a shield.
British Isles
Grant Memorial Gold Dollar
A tiny 1922 U.S. gold dollar honoring Ulysses S. Grant's birth centennial, issued in 'star' and 'no star' varieties from the Philadelphia Mint.
Classic Commemorative
Mewar Chitrakut Half Rupee
A silver half rupee of the princely state of Mewar (Udaipur), dated VS 1985 (c. 1928), with Devanagari legends including the denomination अर्धरुपये.
Princely & Presidency States
Grant Memorial Half Dollar
A 1922 U.S. silver commemorative marking the centennial of Ulysses S. Grant's birth, with his profile and the dates 1822-1922, issued with and without a star.
Classic Commemorative
Medieval Penny of Edward III
A hammered silver penny of Edward III (1327–1377): a crowned facing royal bust on one side and a long cross with pellets on the other.
British Isles
Augsburg Commemorative Medal
A gold commemorative medal of the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, showing a detailed spired cityscape with religious imagery and a heraldic reverse.
Medal
Medieval Silver Cut Farthing
A quarter of a medieval silver penny, physically cut along the reverse cross to make small change before round farthings became common.
British Isles
Mercury Dime Centennial Gold
A 2016-W gold collector coin marking the centennial of the 1916 Mercury dime, struck in 1/10 oz of 24-karat gold at West Point.
Dime
Medal of Honor Commemorative Half Eagle
US 2011 gold $5 commemorative honoring the Medal of Honor, showing the Army version of the medal above a Corinthian column.
Commemoratives
Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar first issued in 1926, famed for its westbound covered wagon and standing Native American designs.
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
American Arts Commemorative Series Gold Medallion
A U.S. Treasury gold bullion medallion series (1980–1984) honoring American artists; the photographed 1981 one-ounce piece features author Mark Twain.
Bullion Medallion
Kai Yuan Tong Bao
A Tang-dynasty Chinese bronze cash coin with the four seal-script characters Kai Yuan Tong Bao around a central square hole.
Cash Coin
Mughal Quarter-Rupee
A small hammered Mughal silver quarter-rupee inscribed in Persian, struck at the Lahore mint and dated Ilahi 47 (AD 1602-1603).
Historic
1 Bu Gin
A small rectangular Japanese silver coin, the ichibu gin, worth one bu (a quarter ryo), bearing beaded borders, paulownia crests and Ginza inscriptions.
Historic
Penny of Offa
Thin silver penny of King Offa of Mercia, showing a portrait or name inscription and a cross with geometric ornament on the reverse.
Medieval Coins