Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
4 Skilling
A Danish copper 4 skilling of 1783, with a crown above a numeral on one face and an ornamental circular pattern framing the date on the other.
Early 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
Long Island Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking 300 years of settlement on Long Island, with accolated settler and Native American heads and a Dutch sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
Half Sovereign of George III
British 22-carat gold half sovereign of George III, introduced in 1817 with a laureate bust and a crowned shield of arms; face value ten shillings.
Milled
Dirham of Kamal al-Dawla Gharib
Silver dirham from 10th-century Iraq/Mesopotamia naming the ruler Gharib with the honorific Kamal al-Dawla, struck with Kufic Arabic legends.
Medieval Islamic
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
Fatimid Dinar of Imam Nizar
An 11th-century Fatimid gold dinar with concentric circular Kufic inscriptions naming the ruler and Shi'a invocations, a hallmark of Fatimid coinage.
Islamic (Medieval)
George Washington 250th Anniversary Half Dollar
A 1982 U.S. silver half dollar honoring the 250th anniversary of George Washington's birth; it revived both the commemorative program and 90% silver coinage.
Modern Commemorative
Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Silver Dollar
A 1992 U.S. 90% silver commemorative dollar marking 500 years since Columbus's 1492 voyage, with a standing Columbus obverse and a sailing-ship reverse.
Modern Commemorative
Shilling of George III
A milled silver shilling of George III from the Great Recoinage, with his laureate bust facing right and a crowned quartered royal shield within the Garter.
Milled
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
McKinley Memorial Gold Dollar
A small U.S. gold commemorative dollar honoring President William McKinley, sold to fund the memorial at his Niles, Ohio birthplace.
Classic Commemorative
Gold Dinar of al-Muqtadi
An aniconic Abbasid gold dinar of Caliph al-Muqtadi, covered on both faces with Arabic calligraphy and ornamental borders, struck in the later 11th century.
Islamic (Medieval)
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
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
Norfolk Bicentennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar honoring Norfolk, Virginia, with the city's Royal Mace on the reverse and dates 1636-1936; a low-mintage classic commemorative.
Classic Commemorative
Ceylon 5 Rupees Buddhism Anniversary
Ceylon's 1957 silver five rupees marking 2,500 years of Buddhism, with an ornate 2500 device amid mythological creatures and a scrolled RUPEES reverse.
South Asia
Brunei Silver Jubilee Commemorative
A bronze Brunei commemorative marking the 1949 Silver Jubilee of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, dated SEPT 1924 to SEPT 1949 with his right-facing portrait.
Southeast Asia
Ceylon 5 Rupees
A 1957 Ceylon silver 5 Rupees marking 2500 years of Buddhism, with a large 2500 on one side and RUPEES CEYLON with the 1957 date on the other.
Commemorative
Lower Canada Bank Penny Token
Copper 1837 penny token of Lower Canada with a standing habitant and PROVINCE DU BAS CANADA obverse and a crowned heraldic-arms reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
Capped Bust Quarter Eagle
A one-year U.S. gold $2.50 piece struck only in 1808, with John Reich's capped Liberty obverse and a heraldic eagle reverse. A classic rarity.
Quarter Eagle
American Arts Commemorative Series Gold Medallion
A U.S. Treasury gold bullion medallion series (1980–1984) honoring American artists; the photographed 1981 one-ounce piece features author Mark Twain.
Bullion Medallion
Cartwheel Penny
The heavy 1797 copper penny of George III, with a broad raised rim and sunken lettering, struck by steam power at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint.
Milled
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin