Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Lincoln Shield Cent
The current Lincoln cent reverse, introduced in 2010, depicts a Union shield replacing the earlier Lincoln Memorial design as the fourth reverse in the cent's history.
United States
Dutch Guilder (Gulden)
The guilder was the standard currency of the Netherlands for more than three centuries, struck in silver and later copper-nickel before being replaced by the euro in 2002.
European
US Bicentennial Quarter (1976)
A special dual-dated quarter struck to celebrate the 200th anniversary of American independence, featuring a colonial drummer boy on the reverse in place of the usual eagle.
United States
Daniel Boone Bicentennial Half Dollar
A commemorative half dollar honoring frontiersman Daniel Boone's 200th birthday, depicting Boone alongside Native American leader Chief Black Fish on the reverse.
Commemorative
Severus Alexander Denarius
Silver denarius of the teenage emperor Severus Alexander, last ruler of the Severan dynasty, whose reign closed with growing military unrest before his murder in 235 AD.
Ancient
Barber Dime
A late-19th and early-20th century silver dime designed by Charles E. Barber, featuring a classical Liberty head, part of a matching set with the Barber quarter and half dollar.
United States
Massachusetts Willow Tree Shilling
The rarest of Massachusetts Bay's tree-series colonial shillings, struck in secret defiance of English law and all frozen with the date 1652 regardless of actual striking year.
United States
Wood's Hibernia Halfpenny
A British copper coinage patented by William Wood for Ireland, controversially rejected there but widely circulated instead in colonial America, where large surplus shipments ended up in everyday trade.
United States
Mende Dionysos on Donkey Tetradrachm
A striking Classical-era silver tetradrachm from the wine-city of Mende, showing the wine-god Dionysos reclining drunkenly on a donkey, one of ancient coinage's most whimsical designs.
Ancient
Pine Tree Shilling
Colonial Massachusetts silver shilling struck by John Hull and Robert Sanderson, famous for carrying the fixed date 1652 for roughly three decades of actual production.
United States
Kyrene Silphium Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the North African Greek city of Kyrene featuring the now-extinct silphium plant, the source of the city's legendary wealth as a prized ancient medicinal herb.
Ancient
Viking Silver Penny of York
Silver penny struck by Norse rulers of the Viking Kingdom of York, blending Christian and pagan imagery such as crosses, swords, and Thor's hammers.
British
Egyptian Qirsh (Muhammad Ali Era)
Silver-billon piastre struck in Egypt under Muhammad Ali Pasha in the name of the Ottoman Sultan, reflecting Egypt's growing autonomy within the empire.
Africa & Oceania
Hadrian Travel Series Denarius
A celebrated series of silver denarii issued late in Hadrian's reign, personifying the many provinces he famously toured throughout the Roman Empire.
Ancient
Kwangtung Province Dragon Dollar
One of the earliest Chinese machine-struck silver dollars, issued by Kwangtung Province and featuring a coiled dragon reverse that became the template for Chinese provincial dollar coinage.
Asian
Chinese Dragon Dollar
A coiled dragon dominates the reverse of these late Qing Dynasty silver dollars, struck by numerous Chinese provincial mints as China modernized its coinage using Western minting technology.
Asian
1802 Draped Bust Half Dime
One of the great rarities of early U.S. coinage, with an extremely small original mintage and only a handful of genuine survivors known today.
United States
Spanish 4 Reales
A mid-value denomination of Spain's traditional real-based coinage, struck for centuries in both Spain and its American colonies.
European
Massachusetts Cent (1787-1788)
State-issued copper coinage struck by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1787 and 1788, notable as the first official U.S. coinage to use the denomination 'cent'.
United States
Australian Penny (1930)
Regarded as the key date of Australian pre-decimal coinage, the 1930 penny is famous for an exceptionally small mintage during the Great Depression.
Africa & Oceania
Bremen Thaler
A silver thaler of the free Hanseatic city of Bremen, typically featuring the city's key emblem, issued for centuries as an independent trading city's own coinage.
European
1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel
One of the most famous overdate errors in United States coinage, showing 1918 struck over an earlier 1917 date on a Buffalo nickel die reused at the Denver Mint.
Errors & Varieties
Chinese Hupeh Province Dragon Dollar
Silver dragon dollar struck by the Hupeh (Hubei) provincial mint in late Qing China, part of the wave of regional dragon-dollar coinage issued across the empire's provinces.
Asian
1871-CC Seated Liberty Dime
One of the first dimes struck at the newly opened Carson City Mint, produced in very limited numbers and highly prized by collectors of CC-mint coinage.
United States