Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Japanese 50 Sen Silver (Meiji Phoenix)
An early Meiji-era Japanese silver coin featuring a coiled dragon on the obverse and a phoenix on the reverse, part of Japan's first modern decimal coinage system introduced after the Meiji Restoration.
Asian
Brasher Doubloon
A famous privately struck gold coin made in 1787 by New York goldsmith Ephraim Brasher, a neighbor of George Washington, and one of the most valuable and celebrated coins in American numismatics.
United States
Kellogg & Co. Gold Piece
Private gold coinage struck by the San Francisco firm Kellogg & Co. during the California Gold Rush, including the famous octagonal fifty-dollar 'slug' of 1855, filling a shortage of circulating coin.
United States
English Angel
A gold coin depicting the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon, issued for nearly two centuries and later famous for its use as a royal 'touch-piece' for the healing ceremony of the King's Evil.
British
Finnish Markka
Finland's national currency from the era of Russian imperial rule until the adoption of the euro, issued in a range of coin denominations reflecting the country's changing political history.
European
Swiss 10 Francs Gold Vreneli
The smallest denomination of Switzerland's iconic "Vreneli" gold series, featuring a Swiss maiden's profile, prized by collectors and gold buyers alike for its classic design and modest size.
European
Spanish 2 Reales Pillar
The Pillar 2 Reales was a fractional Spanish colonial silver coin featuring the famous Pillars of Hercules design, struck at mints across Spanish America and widely used in international trade.
Latin American
1971 British Columbia Dollar
A commemorative Canadian dollar marking the centennial of British Columbia joining Canadian Confederation in 1871, issued in both nickel circulation and silver collector versions.
Canadian
Panormus Siculo-Punic Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm struck at Panormus under Carthaginian control in Sicily, blending Greek artistic style with Punic legends, a hallmark of the distinctive Siculo-Punic coinage series.
Ancient
Trajan Decius Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Trajan Decius, remembered for his empire-wide persecution of Christians and his death in battle against the Goths, and for a famous series honoring deified past emperors.
Ancient
Islamic Silver Dirham (Abbasid)
The standard silver coin of the Abbasid Caliphate, continuing the text-only Kufic script tradition and widely used across a vast medieval trade network stretching from Europe to Central Asia.
Ancient
Byzantine Miliaresion
The main large silver coin of the middle Byzantine Empire, introduced in the 8th century and typically featuring a plain cross on steps, reflecting the era's Iconoclast religious tensions.
Ancient
Half Angel (Angelet)
A small English gold coin worth half the value of the Angel, sharing its famous design of the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon, issued across several reigns from Edward IV to James I.
British
1883 With Cents Liberty Head Nickel
The corrected version of the 1883 Liberty Head Nickel with CENTS added below the wreath, issued later the same year to stop widespread gold-plating fraud tied to the earlier No Cents design.
United States
Chinese Silver Dragon Dollar (Kwangtung Province)
One of China's earliest machine-struck silver dollars, produced by Kwangtung province in the late Qing dynasty with an imperial dragon design, a pioneering issue other provinces soon imitated.
Asian
German 5 Mark Silver (Kaiserreich)
The 5 Mark was the largest circulating silver coin of the German Empire, issued by numerous constituent states and free cities, each with its own portrait or design under a common imperial system.
European
Galerius Follis
Reform-era bronze follis of Galerius, Caesar and later Augustus of the eastern Tetrarchy, remembered for early persecution of Christians and his later Edict of Toleration issued just before his death.
Ancient
Diocletian Follis
Large bronze follis of Diocletian, whose sweeping reforms ended the Crisis of the Third Century, established the Tetrarchy, and introduced this new standardized coin denomination in 294 AD.
Ancient
Presidential Dollar - Abraham Lincoln
A Presidential Dollar honoring Abraham Lincoln, released in 2010 during the bicentennial period of his birth, featuring his portrait and the series' distinctive incused edge lettering.
United States
Syracuse Decadrachm
A large, exquisitely engraved silver coin from the Greek city of Syracuse, celebrated as one of the finest achievements of ancient Greek numismatic art, featuring the nymph Arethusa and a victorious chariot.
Ancient
Five Guinea
The largest regularly issued gold denomination of the guinea coinage system, worth five guineas, struck from the reign of Charles II through George II for major transactions and presentation purposes.
British
1804 Draped Bust Eagle
The final date of the original ten-dollar gold eagle series before a 33-year production halt, later followed by a small number of 1834 diplomatic-gift restrikes made using a similarly dated die.
United States
1804 Draped Bust Quarter
The key date of the short Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle quarter series, the 1804 issue had a very small original mintage and ranks among the rarest and most valuable early United States quarters in any condition.
United States
1944 Steel Lincoln Cent
A scarce transitional error in which a small number of 1944 cents were struck on leftover steel planchets after the Mint had already returned to bronze, the mirror-image counterpart to the famous 1943 copper cent.
Errors & Varieties