Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Half Groat
A small hammered silver coin worth half the value of the groat, or two pence, struck across three centuries of English coinage from the reign of Edward III through the Stuart era.
British
Australian Threepence (pre-decimal)
Small pre-decimal Australian silver coin worth three pence, popularly recognized for its bundled wheat-ear reverse design used across most of the 20th century.
Africa & Oceania
Threepence
A small British coin worth three pence, issued first as a tiny silver piece and later as the distinctive 12-sided brass 'threepenny bit' beloved for its unusual shape.
British
Venezuela Bolivar Silver (Bolívar Fuerte)
A large silver five-bolívares coin nicknamed the "fuerte" (strong) for its full weight and fineness, featuring a portrait of independence hero Simón Bolívar.
Latin American
Indian Head Half Eagle ($5)
A uniquely designed gold five-dollar coin featuring an incuse (recessed) design by Bela Lyon Pratt, the only U.S. circulating coin ever struck this way.
United States
Egyptian Farouk 5 Piastres
Silver five-piastre coin of the Kingdom of Egypt struck during the reign of King Farouk, featuring his portrait or cipher alongside Arabic denomination legends.
Africa & Oceania
Buffalo Nickel
Beloved American five-cent coin featuring a Native American portrait and an American bison, designed by James Earle Fraser and celebrated for its distinctly American imagery.
United States
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
1866 Shield Nickel With Rays
The first-year Shield Nickel design featuring thirteen rays between the reverse stars, marking the debut of the United States' first copper-nickel five-cent coin.
United States
Shield Nickel
The first copper-nickel five-cent coin, the Shield Nickel features a national shield on the obverse and was issued from 1866 to 1883, including rare rays and proof-only dates.
United States
Liberty Head Half Eagle ($5)
A widely produced 19th-century gold five-dollar coin bearing Christian Gobrecht's Coronet Head design, struck across nearly every major American branch mint of the era.
United States
1883 No Cents Liberty Head Nickel
The first-year Liberty Head Nickel design that omitted the word CENTS from the reverse, later infamous as the 'Racketeer Nickel' after being gold-plated and passed off as a five-dollar coin.
United States
1943 'V' Victory Nickel (tombac)
A wartime Canadian five-cent coin struck in golden tombac with a bold V for Victory and a Morse code message around its edge, issued when nickel metal was diverted to the war effort.
Canadian
Capped Bust Right Half Eagle
America's first five-dollar gold coin, struck 1795-1807 with Liberty facing right under a soft cap, first paired with a small perched eagle reverse and later a bold heraldic eagle.
United States
Canadian Gold Maple Leaf (1 oz)
Canada's flagship gold bullion coin, struck in .9999 fine gold by the Royal Canadian Mint since 1979, among the purest gold coins ever issued.
Bullion
Ottoman Gold Sultani
The principal gold trade coin of the early Ottoman Empire, struck to match the weight and fineness of the Venetian ducat so it could compete in Mediterranean commerce.
World
Fatimid Gold Dinar
A high-purity gold coin of the Ismaili Shia Fatimid Caliphate, historically prized for its consistent fineness and widely trusted in medieval Mediterranean trade.
World
Persian Sassanid Silver Drachm
The standard silver coin of the Sasanian Persian Empire, showing an elaborately crowned royal bust and a Zoroastrian fire altar with attendants, struck for over four centuries.
Ancient
Sassanian Drachm of Khusro II
A silver coin of the long-reigning Sasanian king Khusro II, among the most commonly found ancient Persian coins, showing his ornate crowned bust and a Zoroastrian fire altar.
Ancient
Australian Gold Nugget (Kangaroo)
Australia's premier gold bullion coin, originally depicting real gold nuggets before switching to an annually changing kangaroo design, struck in .9999 fine gold.
Bullion
German Hamburg Ducat
A small, exceptionally high-purity gold trade coin struck for centuries by the free city of Hamburg, prized for its consistent fineness and long production history.
European
Sassanian Silver Drachm
The standard silver coin of the Sasanian Persian Empire, featuring an elaborately crowned king's portrait and a Zoroastrian fire altar with attendants, struck for over four centuries.
Ancient
George V Fifty Cents
Canada's fifty-cent silver coin issued under King George V, spanning a reduction in silver fineness in 1920 and including the famously rare 1921 date.
Canadian
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