Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Cartwheel Penny (1797)
A massive, one-ounce copper penny struck in 1797 by Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint, nicknamed the Cartwheel Penny for its thick raised rim resembling a cart's wheel and axle.
British
Italian 10 Lire (Silver)
Kingdom of Italy silver 10 Lire coin, best known for the 1926–1930 'Biga' type showing a two-horse chariot, struck under Vittorio Emanuele III.
European
Cartwheel Twopence (1797)
An enormous two-ounce copper twopence struck in 1797, the largest coin ever produced for circulation in Britain, made famous for its heavy raised cartwheel-style rim.
British
1943 Steel Cent
A one-year-only zinc-coated steel cent struck to conserve copper for World War II ammunition and equipment production, easily recognized by its silvery color.
United States
1943 Bronze Cent
An extremely rare Lincoln cent mistakenly struck in leftover bronze planchets in 1943, a year when cents were officially made of zinc-coated steel to save copper for World War II.
Errors & Varieties
Korean Gwangmu Half Won (1905)
Silver half-won coin from the short-lived Korean Empire's Gwangmu currency reform, struck shortly before Korea fell under increasing Japanese control.
Asian
Italian 100 Lire Gold
The largest gold denomination of the Kingdom of Italy's Latin Monetary Union coinage, struck under Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I in relatively limited numbers.
European
1917 Type 2 Standing Liberty Quarter
The revised Standing Liberty quarter design introduced later in 1917, adding chain mail over Liberty's chest and extra stars on the reverse, used through the end of the series in 1930.
United States
1953 Coronation Voyageur Dollar
The first Canadian silver dollar of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, issued in her coronation year, featuring the classic Voyageur canoe reverse and known for two collectible obverse varieties.
Canadian
Spade Guinea
A George III gold guinea nicknamed for its spade-shaped shield reverse, one of the last widely circulated guinea types before the denomination was phased out in the early 1800s.
British
Gold Noble
England's first successful gold coin for general circulation, introduced in 1344 under Edward III, famous for its ship reverse commemorating English naval power.
British
Australian Lunar Series Gold
The gold counterpart to Perth Mint's Lunar bullion series, depicting the twelve Chinese zodiac animals across three evolving design generations since 1996.
Bullion
Australian Lunar Series Silver
Perth Mint's silver bullion series depicting the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac in rotating annual designs, running since 1996 across three design series.
Bullion
Sovereign (Ottawa Mint, C Mintmark)
British gold sovereigns struck at the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint between 1908 and 1919, marked with a small "C," making Canada part of the empire's global sovereign network.
Canadian
Cuba 4 Pesos Gold Jose Marti
A small gold denomination from Cuba's early republican-era gold coinage, part of a 1915–1916 series (1 through 20 pesos) struck to circulate on par with US gold currency.
Latin American
German Prussia 20 Mark Gold
The standard gold coin of Prussia within the newly unified German Empire, featuring successive Prussian kings and forming a key part of the empire's gold mark system.
European
Two Guinea (Double Guinea)
A substantial gold coin worth two guineas, struck intermittently from the reign of Charles II through George II as part of England and Great Britain's early guinea coinage system.
British
Half Guinea
Smaller companion gold coin to the guinea, worth half its value, struck across the same reigns from Charles II through George III for mid-value transactions.
British
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
Virginia Halfpenny
An official royal copper coinage struck in London specifically for the Colony of Virginia, showing King George III, whose distribution was disrupted by the approaching American Revolution.
United States
Jefferson Nickel
Struck since 1938, the Jefferson Nickel pairs a portrait of Thomas Jefferson with his home, Monticello, and briefly switched to a silver alloy during World War II.
United States
Byzantine Gold Histamenon Nomisma
A distinctive concave (cup-shaped) Byzantine gold coin introduced in the 10th century as the full-weight companion to the flat tetarteron nomisma.
Ancient
Maximian Follis
Large bronze follis of Maximian, co-Augustus with Diocletian who ruled the western half of the empire as part of the Tetrarchy and shared the same reformed coinage design.
Ancient
Mexican Emperor Maximilian Peso
A silver peso struck during the brief reign of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, whose short-lived Second Mexican Empire ended with his execution in 1867.
Latin American