Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Half Sovereign
A small British 22-carat gold coin worth ten shillings; this example shows Queen Victoria's veiled, crowned Jubilee Head portrait and is dated 1887.
World Coins
20 Drachmai
Greece's 1884 gold 20 Drachmai of King George I: a small Latin Monetary Union gold coin with the king's portrait and the crowned royal arms.
Modern
Double Louis d'Or
A large gold coin of Louis XIV dated 1701: the king's laureate profile and 'LUDOVICUS MAGNUS' obverse, an ornate cross of arms reverse.
Royal
20 Lei
Romania's first gold coin, the 1870 20 Lei of Prince Carol I, pairing his left-facing portrait with the national coat of arms.
Modern
Liberty Head Eagle
A United States $10 gold coin struck 1838-1907, with Christian Gobrecht's coronet-crowned Liberty head and a shielded eagle. The example shown is dated 1839.
Eagle
Flowing Hair Stella
An 1879 U.S. $4 gold pattern coin with a flowing-hair Liberty obverse and a large-star "ONE STELLA" reverse; famous rarity, never circulated.
Stella
Vietnam 2 Tien - Bao Dai
A gold 2 Tien of Vietnam's last emperor, Bao Dai (1926-1945), its face bearing a radiant sun motif and Chinese-Vietnamese court inscriptions.
Southeast Asia
Una and the Lion Five Pounds
William Wyon's 1839 gold Five Pounds pairs a young Queen Victoria with Una guiding a lion — widely praised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
British Isles
Capped Head Half Eagle
A U.S. five-dollar gold coin struck 1813–1834, showing a left-facing capped Liberty with stars and a heraldic eagle bearing a shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle
A 1926 U.S. commemorative $2.50 gold coin marking 150 years of American independence, with Liberty holding a torch and scroll and Independence Hall on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Turban Head Eagle
The first U.S. ten-dollar gold coin, struck 1795–1804, with a right-facing Liberty in a soft cap and an eagle reverse.
Eagle
Turban Head Half Eagle
First U.S. gold $5 coin, 1795: Liberty in a soft cap facing right, with a heraldic shield-breasted eagle reverse struck in 22-karat gold.
Half Eagle
Capped Head Quarter Eagle
A rare early U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1821–1834, showing a left-facing capped Liberty head amid stars and a heraldic eagle with shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
Turban Head Quarter Eagle
First U.S. $2.50 gold coin (1796), designed by Robert Scot; Liberty in a soft cap facing right with a heraldic eagle reverse. Extremely rare.
United States
Capped Bust Eagle
The first United States gold ten-dollar coin, struck 1795–1804 with a capped Liberty bust and, in later years, a heraldic eagle bearing a shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
Ghaznavid Dinar
Gold dinar of the Ghaznavid dynasty (c. 10th–11th century), an epigraphic Islamic coin struck at Ghazna and allied mints in Afghanistan.
Medieval Islamic
Aureus of Marcus Aurelius
Small Roman gold coin of the reign of Marcus Aurelius; this piece shows a diademed portrait and a standing deity or personification, dated to 163 AD.
Ancient Coins
Liberty Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1840–1907, with a coronet-crowned Liberty head obverse and a shield-breasted eagle reverse marked "2½ D."
Quarter Eagle
Indian Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin of 1908–1929 with a sunken (incuse) design: an Indian in a feathered war bonnet on the obverse and a standing eagle reverse.
Quarter Eagle
Two Guineas of George II
A large milled gold two-guinea piece of George II, with his left-facing laureate head and a crowned garnished shield of the royal arms; the pictured coin is dated 1738.
Milled
Australian Sovereign
22-carat gold sovereign struck at Australian branch mints; the 1855 Sydney Mint issue was the country's first gold coin.
Australian
Aureus of Augustus
Roman imperial gold coin bearing the bare head of Augustus, first emperor of Rome, struck during his reign from 27 BC to 14 AD.
Ancient Coins
Laurel
A hammered English gold coin of James I worth twenty shillings, named for the king's laurel-wreathed profile, struck 1619-1625.
Hammered
Capped Bust Half Eagle
Early U.S. five-dollar gold coin with a left-facing capped Liberty and a shield-breasted eagle marked "5 D."; the 1822 shown is a legendary rarity.
United States