Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Austrian 20 Corona Gold
A compact gold coin of the Austro-Hungarian Empire depicting Emperor Franz Joseph I, widely available today as an accessible historic gold piece.
European
Brazilian 20000 Reis Gold
The highest-value gold coin of the Empire of Brazil, struck intermittently under Emperor Pedro II to support the country's monetary reserves and international trade.
Latin American
Philippine 20 Centavos (US-Philippines)
A small silver coin from the US administration of the Philippines, showing Liberty striking an anvil before Mount Mayon on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse.
Asian
2008 Beijing Olympics Commemorative Coins
China issued a large multi-year coin program ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, spanning circulating 1 Yuan pieces and extensive gold and silver proof series depicting Olympic sports and Beijing landmarks.
Commemorative
French Napoleon 20 Francs Gold
France's standard 19th-century gold coin, first struck under Napoleon I and continued under later rulers and the Republic, giving rise to the enduring nickname "Napoleon" for any 20-franc gold coin.
European
German Prussia 20 Mark Gold
The standard gold coin of Prussia within the newly unified German Empire, featuring successive Prussian kings and forming a key part of the empire's gold mark system.
European
Japanese Meiji Gold 20 Yen
The largest and highest-denomination gold coin of Meiji-era Japan, featuring an imperial dragon design, struck to underpin Japan's modern gold-backed currency system.
Asian
Swiss 20 Francs Gold Vreneli
Switzerland's beloved gold 20-franc coin, nicknamed "Vreneli" after the young woman on its obverse, prized worldwide as an approachable and historically rich gold bullion and collector coin.
European
2012 London Olympics 50p Series
The Royal Mint issued 29 different circulating 50 pence coins in 2011, each honoring a different sport of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, sparking a nationwide coin-collecting craze in Britain.
Commemorative
2000-P Sacagawea Cheerios Dollar
A famous modern rarity: early-production 2000-P Sacagawea dollars included in Cheerios cereal boxes as a promotion, some showing enhanced eagle tail feather detail not found on later coins.
Errors & Varieties
German Empire 20 Mark Gold (Wilhelm II)
The standard gold coin of the German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm II, struck at multiple state mints and widely collected for its imperial portrait and eagle reverse.
European
Spanish 20 Pesetas Gold (Alfonso XII)
Spain's standard gold coin of the Latin Monetary Union era, struck under King Alfonso XII following the restoration of the Spanish monarchy in the 1870s.
European
2000-P Sacagawea/Washington Quarter Mule
An extraordinarily rare mint error pairing the golden Sacagawea dollar obverse with a Washington quarter reverse die, one of the most famous modern mule errors in U.S. coinage.
Errors & Varieties
Italian 20 Lire Gold (Vittorio Emanuele)
The Kingdom of Italy's standard 20 lire gold coin, issued under kings including Vittorio Emanuele II, sharing the Latin Monetary Union's gold specifications with coins like the French Napoleon.
European
Royal Canadian Mint Colored Poppy Quarter (2004)
Canada's 2004 poppy quarter is widely credited as the world's first coin with a colored design produced for general circulation, honoring Canadian war remembrance with a red poppy at its center.
Commemorative
2010 Hot Springs America the Beautiful Quarter
The first coin in the America the Beautiful Quarters series, honoring Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas with an image of its historic bathhouse row.
United States
Kushan Gold Dinar
Gold coin of the Kushan Empire modeled on the Roman aureus standard, notable for depicting a rich blend of Greek, Iranian, Indian, and Buddhist deities on its reverse.
Ancient
Chola Dynasty Gold Kahavanu
A gold coin of the powerful medieval South Indian Chola dynasty, typically bearing the dynastic tiger, fish, and bow emblem alongside a standing or seated royal figure.
Asian
Kushan Gold Dinar of Kanishka
A gold dinar of the great Kushan emperor Kanishka I, famous for its rich mix of Greek, Iranian, Indian, and Buddhist deities depicted on the reverse.
Ancient
Halfpenny
A small British bronze coin worth half a penny, best known in its twentieth-century form featuring Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind on the reverse.
British
Classic Head Quarter Eagle
Struck from 1834 to 1839 after Congress reduced the gold weight of U.S. coins, this quarter eagle dropped the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM and features a simplified Liberty head.
United States
Delhi Sultanate Silver Tanka
The standard silver coin of the medieval Delhi Sultanate, bearing Arabic inscriptions naming the ruling sultan, and a forerunner of later Indian silver denominations.
Asian
Half Crown
A long-lived British coin worth one-eighth of a pound, struck from the Tudor era until decimalisation in 1970, valued today mainly for its portraits and design variety.
British
Panama-Pacific Quarter Eagle Commemorative
A 1915 commemorative gold coin honoring the Panama-Pacific Exposition, showing Liberty riding a hippocampus (sea horse), symbolizing the Panama Canal's linking of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Commemorative