Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
French Semeuse 5 Francs
A silver French 5-franc coin of the Fifth Republic showing the Sower (Semeuse) striding left, with a flowered wreath around the value on the reverse.
Circulation
Daniel Boone Bicentennial Half Dollar
A 90% silver U.S. classic commemorative struck 1934–1938 for Daniel Boone's bicentennial, showing his portrait and a frontier scene with Chief Black Fish.
Classic Commemorative
Gobrecht Dollar
U.S. silver dollar of 1836 by engraver Christian Gobrecht, pairing a Seated Liberty obverse with a flying-eagle reverse; a rare pattern-era issue.
Dollar
Victorian Crown
Large Victorian silver crown showing Queen Victoria's veiled "Old Head" portrait and Pistrucci's Saint George slaying the dragon, dated 1893.
World Coins
Sestertius of Didius Julianus
A large bronze/orichalcum sestertius of Didius Julianus, the emperor who reigned only weeks in 193 AD — rare, historically charged, and much sought after.
Ancient
Speciedaler
Large early-modern Norwegian silver crown of the Dano-Norwegian kingdom, showing a crowned royal bust and the Norwegian lion shield, dated 1628.
Early Modern
½ Skilling
A small copper Danish half skilling of 1771, showing a royal crown over the king's cipher and the value ½ SKILLING DANMARK K:M on the reverse.
Early Modern
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)
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
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
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
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
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 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