Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
French West Africa 1 Franc
A lightweight aluminum 1 Franc dated 1948 for French West Africa, with an allegorical female head on the obverse and the value framed by AFRIQUE-OCCIDENTALE FRANCAISE on the reverse.
World
Belgian Congo 1 Franc
An early silver franc struck for the Congo under King Leopold II, pairing a laureate portrait with grain stalks and the value.
World
World War II 50th Anniversary Silver Dollar
A 1993 U.S. 90% silver dollar in the World War II 50th Anniversary program, showing a D-Day infantryman and a heraldic eagle with an Eisenhower quote.
Modern Commemorative
Kennedy Half Dollar 50th Anniversary High Relief
U.S. 90% silver half dollar issued in 2014 for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy design, with a restored high-relief JFK portrait.
Half Dollar
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian
500 Reis
A Portuguese silver 500 Reis of Queen Maria II, with her left-facing draped bust on the obverse and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
Minnesota State Quarter
2005 U.S. 25-cent coin in the 50 State Quarters series, showing Minnesota's outline, a common loon, anglers in a boat, and pines above 1858.
Quarter
France 20 Centimes
A small gold-colored French Fifth Republic coin showing Marianne in profile, worth one-fifth of a franc, struck for four decades before the euro.
Circulation
Swiss Shooting Thaler
A silver Swiss 5-franc shooting thaler dated 1934, struck for a federal shooting festival, with a standing female Helvetia figure and a heraldic shield.
Commemorative
Hawaii State Quarter
The 2008 Hawaii State Quarter, final coin in the 50 State Quarters series, showing King Kamehameha I reaching over the islands.
Quarter
Tanzania 500 Shillings
A modern base-metal circulating coin of Tanzania carrying a right-facing portrait long associated with the nation's founding president and a Kiswahili legend.
World
2.5 Escudos
A copper-nickel 2.5 Escudos of the Portuguese Republic, showing a sailing caravel on the obverse and the national shield with the value 2$50.
Modern
500 Yen Bicolor Clad
Japan's large two-tone 500 yen circulation coin, with a floral blossom design and pearl-like beading on one face and bold value numerals on the other.
Circulation
Draped Bust Half Dollar
Early U.S. silver fifty-cent piece of 1796–1807. The pictured 1796 Small Eagle with 15 stars is among the rarest of all American coins.
Half Dollar
25 Pesetas (Franco)
Spain's common Franco-era 25 pesetas, a silvery copper-nickel coin bearing the national coat of arms and the value 25; dated 1957 but struck into the 1970s.
Modern
French 30 Sols
A silver coin of the early French Revolution showing Louis XVI as constitutional king on one side and a standing Liberty on the other.
Revolutionary
French Constitutional Ecu
A large 1792 French silver ecu of the constitutional monarchy, with a bust of Louis XVI and an allegorical figure of Liberty with fasces.
Revolutionary
France 2 Euro Bleuet de France Commemorative
A French bi-metallic 2 euro commemorative showing the Bleuet de France cornflower, France's remembrance flower, paired with the shared European 2 euro side.
Commemorative
France 1 Euro
France's bimetallic 1 euro coin, with a stylized leafy tree inside a hexagon on the national side and the euro value with a map of Europe on the common side.
Euro
French Indochina Piastre
A 1928 silver piastre of French Indochina, its obverse showing seated Liberty with torch and laurel, its reverse reading UNION INDOCHINE FRANÇAISE in a floral wreath.
Southeast Asia
500 Yen Niigata Prefecture Commemorative
A modern Japanese 500 Yen commemorative for Niigata Prefecture, showing a traditional ship that celebrates the region's maritime and port heritage.
Commemorative
Bhutan 500 Ngultrum Commemorative
Modern Bhutanese silver commemorative dated 2008, with a portrait of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and an ornate dragon-and-mythical-creature reverse.
Himalayan