Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Franklin Half Dollar
A 90% silver half dollar (1948-1963) depicting Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse, designed by John R. Sinnock.
United States
Barber Half Dollar
A 90% silver half dollar (1892-1915) with a right-facing Liberty head designed by Charles E. Barber, part of a matching Barber dime, quarter, and half dollar series.
United States
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
1794 Flowing Hair Dollar
The very first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint, produced in extremely limited numbers and ranking among the most valuable American coins in existence.
United States
US Seated Liberty Dollar
Mid-19th century American silver dollar showing Liberty seated on a rock, produced from 1840 until being replaced by the Trade Dollar in 1873.
United States
1804 Draped Bust Dollar
One of the most famous rarities in American numismatics, a silver dollar dated 1804 but actually struck decades later, with only 15 known examples.
United States
1794 Flowing Hair Half Dollar
The first half dollar ever struck by the United States Mint, produced in tiny numbers and ranking among the most desirable early American silver coins.
United States
Mexican 8 Reales Pillar Dollar
Minted in colonial Mexico City from 1732 to the early 1770s, the pillar dollar's crowned globes and Pillars of Hercules design made it one of the most widely trusted silver trade coins in the world.
Latin American
Victoria Fifty Cents (half dollar)
Canada's silver fifty-cent piece struck under Queen Victoria from 1870 to 1901, featuring her portrait and a heraldic shield-and-wreath reverse.
Canadian
Australian Holey Dollar and Dump
In 1813, colonial authorities in New South Wales punched the centers out of Spanish silver dollars to create two coins from one, easing a severe coin shortage while preventing the silver from leaving the colony.
Africa & Oceania
United States Trade Dollar
A heavier silver dollar issued specifically for trade with China and East Asia, the Trade Dollar circulated internationally before being demonetized and later collected as a design classic.
United States
Draped Bust Half Dollar
A silver half dollar (1796-1807) showing a draped, classically styled Liberty bust, issued with a small eagle reverse (1796-1797) and later a heraldic eagle reverse (1801-1807).
United States
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Widely admired U.S. half dollar designed by Adolph A. Weinman, depicting Liberty striding toward the sun and a bold eagle on the reverse; its obverse design was later revived for the Silver Eagle.
United States
Chinese Yunnan Province Dragon Dollar
A silver dragon dollar struck by China's remote southwestern Yunnan province, notable for its distinctive coiled dragon design and unusually long production continuing well into the Republic era.
Asian
US Olympic Commemorative Dollar (1983)
The first coin in a two-year US commemorative program supporting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the 1983 silver dollar features a discus-thrower design and marked a revival of American commemorative coinage.
Commemorative
Spanish-Philippine 8 Reales Counterstamped Dollar
Spanish colonial 8 reales silver dollar officially countermarked for circulation in the Philippines, a hybrid of Spanish American and Philippine monetary history.
Asian
Yuan Shikai 'Fatman' Dollar (1914)
A widely produced Republic of China silver dollar bearing the portrait of President Yuan Shikai, nicknamed the fat man dollar for his portly likeness, one of the most common historic Chinese silver coins.
Asian
1888/7 Morgan Dollar Overdate
A collector-recognized overdate die variety of the 1888 Morgan silver dollar, cataloged among the VAM series of Morgan dollar die varieties for specialists to pursue.
Errors & Varieties
Chinese Fengtien Province Dragon Dollar
Silver dragon dollar struck by the provincial mint of Fengtien in Manchuria during the late Qing dynasty, notable for several rare dated varieties.
Asian
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
Chinese Auto Dollar (Kweichow, 1928)
Famous Chinese provincial silver dollar depicting an automobile, struck in Kweichow province in 1928 and celebrated by collectors as one of the most distinctive Chinese coin designs.
Asian
Sun Yat-sen Junk Dollar
A Republic of China silver dollar depicting Sun Yat-sen and a traditional sailing junk, with the scarcer 1934 variety showing three birds overhead that is highly sought by collectors.
Asian
Chinese Kirin Province Dragon Dollar
A late Qing dynasty silver dollar from China's northeastern Kirin province, widely admired by collectors for the unusually artistic and finely detailed dragon design on several of its issues.
Asian
1984 Los Angeles Olympics Commemorative Dollar
The second year of a two-year US commemorative coin program, this 1984-dated silver dollar helped fund the Los Angeles Olympic Games and featured Olympic-themed artwork struck at three US mints.
Commemorative