Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1885 Liberty Head V Nickel
The key date of the Liberty Head V Nickel series, struck in one of the lowest mintages of the run and highly sought after to complete a date set.
United States
1932-S Washington Quarter
One of the two key dates of the Washington quarter series, struck at San Francisco in the design's debut year with a very limited mintage.
United States
1958 British Columbia Totem Pole Dollar
A commemorative Canadian silver dollar marking the centennial of the founding of the Colony of British Columbia in 1858, its reverse featuring a totem pole design.
Canadian
1892 Barber Quarter
The first-year issue of the Barber quarter series, introducing Charles Barber's new Liberty Head design after the retirement of the earlier Seated Liberty quarter.
United States
Greek Drachma
The modern national currency of Greece from shortly after independence until the adoption of the euro, reviving the name of the ancient Greek unit and featuring classical and historical imagery.
European
Constantius II Centenionalis
A bronze centenionalis of Constantius II featuring the dramatic 'Fallen Horseman' reverse, one of the most famous designs of the Late Roman Empire.
Ancient
1873 Open 3 vs Closed 3 Indian Head Cent
Two distinct date logotype varieties of the 1873 Indian Head cent, distinguished by whether the top loop of the final 3 in the date is nearly closed or clearly open.
Errors & Varieties
Reichsthaler
The standard large silver coin of the Holy Roman Empire and its constituent German states from the 16th century onward, whose name is the direct linguistic ancestor of the word 'dollar.'
European
Papal States Scudo
The principal silver coin of the Papal States, bearing the portrait or arms of the reigning pope alongside religious imagery, struck for centuries until the Papal territories' loss of independence.
European
Chinese Ming Dynasty Cash (Hong Wu Tong Bao)
The founding cash coin of the Ming Dynasty, issued under the Hongwu Emperor, marking the restoration of native Han Chinese rule after the collapse of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.
Asian
Maximinus Thrax Denarius
Silver denarius of Maximinus Thrax, the first Roman emperor risen from the common soldiery rather than the senatorial class, ruling amid the onset of the Crisis of the Third Century.
Ancient
Netherlands Rijksdaalder Gulden
The 2.5 guilder coin of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, carrying forward the historic rijksdaalder name through the monarchy era until the euro's adoption.
European
1864 L Indian Head Cent
A famous variety of the 1864 bronze Indian Head cent bearing a tiny L on Liberty's ribbon for designer James Longacre, one of the most recognized key varieties in the series.
United States
Canadian Maple Leaf (Gold)
Introduced in 1979, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf was one of the first .9999 pure gold bullion coins in the world and remains a benchmark product of the Royal Canadian Mint.
Bullion
Syracuse Arethusa Tetradrachm
A classic silver tetradrachm from ancient Syracuse depicting the nymph Arethusa surrounded by dolphins, one of the most admired coin types of the Greek world.
Ancient
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
1916 Standing Liberty Quarter
The extremely low-mintage first-year issue of the Standing Liberty quarter, one of the most famous key dates in all of United States coinage.
United States
Chinese Qing Dynasty Cash (Qian Long Tong Bao)
A brass cash coin issued during the long, prosperous reign of the Qianlong Emperor, one of the most commonly encountered Qing Dynasty coins in collections today.
Asian
1857 Flying Eagle Cent
The first-year circulation issue of the Flying Eagle Cent, marking the debut of the small-format cent that replaced the old large copper cent.
United States
1873-CC Seated Liberty Quarter (No Arrows)
One of the great rarities of the Seated Liberty quarter series, this tiny Carson City issue predates the mid-1873 arrows-at-date modification and survives in only a handful of known examples.
United States
Bactrian Silver Tetradrachm
Large silver coin of the Greco-Bactrian kings of Central Asia, celebrated for producing some of the finest realistic royal portraiture in all of ancient coinage.
Ancient
1896-S Barber Quarter
One of the three classic key dates of the Barber quarter series, valued for its low original mintage and the difficulty of finding problem-free survivors.
United States
German States Thaler
A large silver coin struck by the many independent states of the German-speaking world for over three centuries, and the direct linguistic ancestor of the word 'dollar.'
European
Severus Alexander Denarius
Silver denarius of the teenage emperor Severus Alexander, last ruler of the Severan dynasty, whose reign closed with growing military unrest before his murder in 235 AD.
Ancient