Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1999 Delaware State Quarter
The debut coin of the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program, honoring Delaware as the first state to ratify the Constitution, featuring Caesar Rodney's historic ride.
Commemorative
Nickel Three-Cent Piece
A post-Civil War small coin struck in copper-nickel to replace the fragile silver three-cent piece and small-denomination paper currency then in circulation.
United States
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
Valerian Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Valerian, the only Roman emperor ever captured alive by a foreign enemy, taken prisoner by the Sassanid king Shapur I in 260 AD.
Ancient
1908-S Indian Head Cent
The first Indian Head cent struck at the San Francisco Mint, marking the first time a branch mint produced a one-cent coin for the United States.
United States
1864 Two-Cent Piece
The debut year of the two-cent piece, the first US coin to bear the motto In God We Trust, issued in Small Motto and Large Motto varieties.
United States
Persian Kran (Qajar silver)
The standard silver coin of Qajar Persia, worth one-tenth of a gold toman, widely struck under Naser al-Din Shah and later rulers and commonly seen with the lion-and-sun emblem.
Asian
Spanish Colonial 8 Reales Ferdinand VII
A large silver 8 reales coin struck across Spain's American colonies bearing the portrait of King Ferdinand VII, widely circulated internationally and historically linked to the origin of the US dollar sign.
World
Massachusetts Oak Tree Shilling
The second design in Massachusetts Bay's colonial tree-coin series, showing an oak tree, more available than the earlier Willow Tree type but still a scarce early American colonial rarity.
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
Laurel
A gold twenty-shilling coin issued from 1619, named for its laureate royal portrait styled after Roman emperors, replacing the earlier Unite as James I's principal gold denomination.
British
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
1861 Confederate Half Dollar
An extraordinarily rare Civil War-era coin struck briefly at the Confederate-controlled New Orleans mint, using a genuine CSA reverse die paired with an existing US half dollar obverse.
United States
Nova Constellatio Copper
Distinctive early American copper coin featuring a radiant eye within a circle of stars, associated with Gouverneur Morris's proposed decimal coinage plans of the early 1780s.
United States
Australian Gold Sovereign (Sydney Mint)
Gold sovereign struck at the Sydney Mint, Australia's first branch mint, opened to coin gold from the New South Wales gold rushes into imperial currency.
Africa & Oceania
Brazil 960 Reis
Brazilian silver coin created by overstriking Spanish colonial 8 reales with new Portuguese royal dies, issued after the Portuguese royal court relocated to Brazil.
Latin American
Chinese Platinum Panda
China's platinum bullion coin series, sister to the famous Gold Panda, featuring a new panda design nearly every year since its 1987 debut.
Bullion
British Queen's Beasts Silver Series
A ten-coin Royal Mint bullion series honoring the heraldic Queen's Beasts statues from Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation, issued 2016-2021.
British
Chilean 50 Pesos Gold
A mid-sized Chilean gold coin issued as part of the 1926 gold standard reform, sharing the condor design theme with its larger and smaller companion denominations.
Latin American
Spanish Colonial Cob 8 Reales (Macuquina)
A crudely hand-struck Spanish colonial silver coin, cut from irregular silver bars and stamped with a cross and shield, famed worldwide as the original 'piece of eight'.
Latin American
Gold Sovereign
Iconic British gold pound coin, revived in 1817 with Benedict Pistrucci's celebrated St George and the Dragon design, struck for centuries in London and branch mints worldwide.
British
French Louis d'Or
The Louis d'Or was the principal gold coin of the French monarchy for over 150 years, named after the kings Louis who issued it, and struck until the eve of the Revolution.
European
Prussian Thaler
The Prussian Thaler was the leading silver coin of the powerful Kingdom of Prussia, circulating from the mid-18th century until German unification replaced it with the mark in 1871–1873.
European
George V Ten Cents
Canada's silver ten-cent coin struck throughout the long reign of King George V, spanning the First World War era through to the mid-1930s.
Canadian