Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Olympic Hockey Commemorative Dollar
Silver-colored commemorative dollar for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, showing an ice hockey player, maple leaves, and the Olympic rings.
Canadian & Provincial
British North Borneo Half Cent
An 1885 copper half cent of British North Borneo: a bust in a laurel wreath on the obverse and the company arms with a heraldic supporter on the reverse.
Colonial
David II Groat
A hammered silver groat of David II of Scotland, showing his crowned portrait on the obverse and a Scottish shield with long-cross reverse.
Hammered
Flowing Hair Dollar
The first U.S. silver dollar, struck 1794–1795, with a right-facing Liberty whose hair flows loose amid stars and a small spread-wing eagle reverse.
Dollar
Edward IV Half Groat
Hammered silver half groat (twopence) of Edward IV, with a crowned royal bust and a long-cross reverse, struck at English mints between 1461 and 1483.
Medieval Coins
Isle of Man Noble
The Isle of Man Noble: the world's first platinum bullion coin, pairing a crowned Queen Elizabeth II with a Viking longship reverse.
Bullion
Israel 1 Agora (Bank of Israel 25th Anniversary)
A small 1980 aluminum-bronze 1 Agora of Israel, tied to the Bank of Israel's 25th anniversary, with grain ears on one face and the value 1 with Hebrew legend on the other.
World
Pakistan 5 Rupees
A brass Pakistani five-rupee coin with a large numeral 5 set in an ornamental frame and Islamic-style Urdu calligraphy around both faces.
South Asia
Flowing Hair Stella
An 1879 U.S. $4 gold pattern coin with a flowing-hair Liberty obverse and a large-star "ONE STELLA" reverse; famous rarity, never circulated.
Stella
Franklin Pierce Presidential Dollar
Golden-colored U.S. dollar from the Presidential $1 Coin series, honoring Franklin Pierce, the 14th President, with a Statue of Liberty reverse.
Dollar
Draped Bust Half Cent
An early U.S. copper half cent showing draped Liberty with flowing hair; the smallest denomination the Mint ever struck, made 1800–1808.
Half Cent
Braided Hair Half Cent
The final U.S. half cent design, a small copper coin showing Liberty with braided hair and a coronet, paired with a wreath reverse, struck 1840–1857.
Half Cent
Australian Crown
Australia's only crown (five-shilling) coin, a large sterling-silver piece struck in 1937 and 1938 with a George VI portrait and a crown reverse.
Australian
British Farthing
Small copper farthing of King George II, with his laureate bust facing left and a seated Britannia on the reverse; struck in the 1730s.
British Isles
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian
Groat of Henry VIII
A hand-struck Tudor silver groat (fourpence) of Henry VIII, showing the quartered royal arms within a circle and a long cross reverse.
Hammered
Half Guinea of George II
A small British gold coin of the reign of George II, worth half a guinea, with the king's left-facing bust and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
Milled
Five Guineas of George II
The largest English gold coin of George II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms on the reverse.
Milled
Charles I Unite
A large hammered gold coin of Charles I worth twenty shillings, showing his crowned profile and a crowned quartered shield of lions and fleur-de-lis.
Hammered
Charles I Forty Pence
A hammered silver forty-pence piece of Charles I, showing his crowned armored bust and a crowned heraldic shield with the motto PRO REGE ET LEGE.
Hammered
Styca of Aethelred
Small base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, naming King Aethelred, with a central device and legend on one face and a cross on the other.
Medieval Coins
Three-Dollar Gold Piece
An unusual U.S. gold coin of the $3 denomination struck 1854–1889, showing a Liberty head in a feathered Indian-style headdress. The photo shows the 1854 first year.
Gold Type Coin
Edward IV Groat
A hammered silver fourpence of King Edward IV of England, struck 1461-1483, with a crowned facing bust on one side and a long cross with rosettes on the other.
Medieval Coins
Edward III Half Groat
Hammered silver English half groat of Edward III showing a crowned facing bust and a long voided cross with pellets on the reverse.
Medieval Coins