Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Grosz Miejski
A silver city grosz struck at Elbląg in 1533, pairing the town's crowned coat of arms with an eagle and civic inscriptions under the Polish crown.
Early Modern
2 Lire
Silver 2 Lire of the Papal States struck under Pope Pius IX, part of the Italian lira system adopted by Rome in the 1860s.
Modern
German 2 Reichsmark (Hindenburg)
Third Reich silver 2 Reichsmark showing an eagle over a swastika shield and, on the other side, Paul von Hindenburg with the value and date.
Circulation
Brunswick 1/3 Thaler
A 1678 silver 1/3 thaler of the Duchy of Brunswick, showing the leaping Saxon steed on the obverse and a standing saintly figure with a cross on the reverse.
German States
South Africa 5 Shillings
A large 1952 South African silver crown marking Cape Town's 300th anniversary, with King George VI and a sailing-ship reverse.
Circulation
Charles II Half Crown
A milled silver half crown of Charles II, showing his laureate bust facing right and crowned royal-arms shields on the reverse.
Milled
Philippines 20 Centavos
A small wartime silver 20 centavos of the Commonwealth-era Philippines: a standing Liberty figure and Mayon volcano, with an eagle over a shield on the reverse.
Southeast Asia
Hawaiian Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
A scarce 1928 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 150 years since Captain James Cook's arrival in the Hawaiian Islands.
Classic Commemorative
Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
A 1925 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking the 150th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, showing the Concord Minuteman and the Old Belfry.
Classic Commemorative
Cincinnati Music Center Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar honoring Cincinnati as a music center, with composer Stephen Foster on the obverse and an allegorical figure with a lyre on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Elgin Illinois Centennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking the centennial of Elgin, Illinois, with a bearded pioneer head and a pioneer-family memorial group on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
A classic U.S. silver half dollar struck 1916–1947, showing Liberty striding toward the sunrise on the obverse and a perched eagle on the reverse.
Half Dollar
Seated Liberty Half Dollar
U.S. 90% silver fifty-cent piece struck 1839–1891, with a seated figure of Liberty by Christian Gobrecht and a heraldic eagle reverse.
Half Dollar
Pine Tree Shilling
Silver shilling from the Boston mint, struck about 1667–1674 but dated 1652, showing a pine tree beside the legend MASSACHUSETTS.
Colonial
Eighth Thistle Merk
A small hammered silver Scottish coin of James VI, showing a crowned heraldic shield of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Gothic Florin
A silver two-shilling florin of Queen Victoria in the medieval-revival Gothic style, with an ornate crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1869.
Milled
Charles I Twenty Pence
A small hammered silver twenty-pence coin of Charles I, showing his crowned profile and a heraldic reverse with rose and thistle badges.
Hammered
Counterstamped 2 Reales
A Spanish silver 2 reales dated 1803 that was later punched with a WR-and-crown counterstamp, giving it a second, borrowed life as legal tender.
Colonial
French Half Ecu (Demi-Ecu)
A silver half ecu of Louis XVI dated 1792, with his bust left and a standing winged genius reverse reading L'AN 4 DE LA LIBERTE.
Royal
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
Dirham of Samura ibn Jundab
An Arab-Sassanian silver dirham struck in the name of the early governor Samura ibn Jundab, keeping the Persian Shah bust and fire-altar design with added Arabic.
Islamic (Medieval)
Roanoke Island Half Dollar
A 1937 U.S. silver half dollar marking 350 years since the Roanoke Island colony and the birth of Virginia Dare, with Sir Walter Raleigh and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
Arkansas Centennial Half Dollar (Robinson)
A 1936 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar pairing a portrait of Senator Joseph T. Robinson with the Arkansas Centennial eagle; a scarce one-year Philadelphia issue.
Classic Commemorative
Syracuse Dekadrachm
Large silver dekadrachm of Syracuse, c. 405-380 BC, showing a racing quadriga crowned by Victory and a head of the nymph Arethusa with flowing hair.
Ancient