Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
German 20 Mark Gold
German Empire gold 20 mark of Prussia, with Kaiser Wilhelm I's bust and the imperial eagle; a small .900 gold coin from the pre-WWI Goldmark era.
Bullion/gold
Xuantong Yuanbao 20 Cents
A small late-Qing silver 20-cent coin with a Western-style dragon, the English legend FIRST YEAR OF HSUAN TUNG, and Chinese characters reading Xuantong Yuanbao.
Circulation
Turban Head Quarter Eagle
First U.S. $2.50 gold coin (1796), designed by Robert Scot; Liberty in a soft cap facing right with a heraldic eagle reverse. Extremely rare.
United States
Copper Fals of Muzaffar Hajji
A worn medieval Islamic copper fals bearing Arabic calligraphy and the name of the ruler al-Muzaffar Hajji, an aniconic base-metal coin used as everyday small change.
Islamic (Medieval)
Liberty Head Double Eagle
U.S. $20 gold coin struck 1850–1907, showing a coroneted Liberty head left and a heraldic eagle with shield; the 1869 is a with-motto Type 2.
Double Eagle
Harpers Ferry Quarter
U.S. 25-cent coin from the 2016 America the Beautiful series, showing John Brown's Fort at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia.
Quarter
Seated Liberty Dime
A U.S. silver ten-cent coin showing Liberty seated with a pole and shield; the early No Stars type has a plain obverse and a laurel-wreath ONE DIME reverse.
Dime
Tibetan Tangka
A silver tangka, the standard coin of old Tibet, its faces filled with Tibetan script and Buddhist ornamental motifs, struck from the late 18th into the 19th century.
Himalayan
Una and the Lion Five Pounds
William Wyon's 1839 gold Five Pounds pairs a young Queen Victoria with Una guiding a lion — widely praised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
British Isles
Two Guineas of George II
A large milled gold two-guinea piece of George II, with his left-facing laureate head and a crowned garnished shield of the royal arms; the pictured coin is dated 1738.
Milled
Indian Paisa
A hand-struck copper paisa from early 19th-century India, its legends worn smooth by age and circulation. A humble base-metal coin of everyday commerce.
Princely & Presidency States
Isabella Quarter
The 1893 Isabella Quarter is the only U.S. commemorative quarter dollar, made for the Columbian Exposition's Board of Lady Managers.
Classic Commemorative
Lincoln Bicentennial Cent
A 2009 U.S. one-cent coin marking Lincoln's 200th birthday, keeping his classic profile while replacing the usual reverse with four scenes from his life.
Small Cent
Capped Head Quarter Eagle
A rare early U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1821–1834, showing a left-facing capped Liberty head amid stars and a heraldic eagle with shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
Lincoln Wheat Cent
U.S. one-cent coin struck 1909–1958 with Lincoln's profile and a pair of wheat ears framing ONE CENT; the 1909-S here is a scarce first-year San Francisco issue.
Small Cent
Three Graces Pattern Crown
A celebrated 1817 silver pattern crown of George III, engraved by William Wyon and never issued for circulation — a prized masterpiece of British coinage.
Pattern
American Plantations Token
A 1688 tin token struck under James II for England's American colonies, valued at 1/24 of a Spanish real — the first regal-authorized coinage for British America.
Colonial
1 Yen (Silver)
An early Meiji silver 1 Yen struck in Meiji 3 (1870), showing a coiled dragon with a radiant sun on one side and a wreathed imperial crest on the other.
Circulation
Charles II Halfpenny
A milled copper halfpenny of Charles II showing his laureate bust and a seated Britannia, part of the first regal copper coinage of England, dated 1675.
Milled
Sierra Leone 20 Cents
A 1964 Sierra Leone 20 cents from the country's first decimal coinage, showing a portrait profile on one side and the national coat of arms with its lion on the other.
World
Alexander the Great Gold Quarter Stater
A small gold fraction of the Alexander the Great coinage, showing the head of Heracles and an eagle perched on a thunderbolt, the attributes of Zeus.
Ancient
Guangxu Yuanbao 50 Cents
A Qing-dynasty silver half-dollar bearing the legend Guangxu Yuanbao and a coiled dragon, struck by Chinese provincial mints during the Guangxu Emperor's reign.
Circulation
Guangxu Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A silver Chinese dragon dollar of the Guangxu era, marked Guangxu Yuanbao and valued at 7 Mace 2 Candareens, with a coiled dragon on one face and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation
Capped Bust Quarter
An early U.S. silver quarter dollar showing Liberty in a cloth cap over a shield-breasted eagle, struck at Philadelphia from 1815 to 1838.
Quarter