Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1866 Seated Liberty Quarter (Motto)
The first year the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appeared on the quarter dollar, the low-mintage 1866 Philadelphia issue is a genuine key date of the Seated Liberty series.
United States
Elagabalus Denarius
Silver denarius of the teenage Syrian priest-emperor Elagabalus, whose brief, scandal-ridden reign is reflected in unusual reverse types tied to his sun-god cult.
Ancient
Rhodes Rose and Helios Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the island of Rhodes, pairing a radiant frontal head of the sun god Helios with the island's punning emblem, a rose.
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
1995 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent
A widely collected doubled die variety showing clear doubling on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST on the obverse, notable for being far more available in circulation than earlier famous Lincoln cent doubled dies.
Errors & Varieties
Poseidonia (Paestum) Poseidon Stater
An early Magna Graecia silver stater from Poseidonia showing the sea god Poseidon striding forward with a raised trident, named for and emblematic of the city itself.
Ancient
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
1877 Shield Nickel (Proof Only)
A major Shield Nickel rarity struck exclusively as proof coinage for collectors, with no business strikes produced for circulation that year.
United States
Faustina the Younger Denarius
Silver denarius of Faustina the Younger, daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife of Marcus Aurelius, whose coinage emphasizes fertility and family themes.
Ancient
Commodus Denarius
Silver denarius of Commodus, the erratic son of Marcus Aurelius, whose later coinage famously depicted him as Hercules with lion skin and club.
Ancient
Draped Bust Large Cent
An early American copper cent showing a classically draped Liberty, based on a Gilbert Stuart portrait, minted at the dawn of United States coinage.
United States
1851 Silver Three-Cent Piece
The first-year issue of the tiny Type I silver three-cent piece, nicknamed the trime, created to ease a national shortage of small change and postage-stamp coinage.
United States
New Jersey Copper
State-authorized copper coinage struck for New Jersey in the late 1780s, famous for its horse-head-and-plow obverse and shield reverse design.
United States
Tunisian Franc (Beylik Era)
French-franc-aligned coinage struck in the name of the Tunisian Bey during the era of French protectorate influence, blending Arabic and French inscriptions.
Africa & Oceania
Swiss Franc (Helvetia Seated)
Switzerland's classic 19th-century silver coinage depicting a seated figure of Helvetia, the female personification of the Swiss nation.
European
1856 Flying Eagle Cent
An extremely rare pattern-like small cent struck to convince Congress to approve a new, smaller cent design, and one of the most desired key dates in U.S. coinage.
United States