Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Talbot, Allum & Lee Cent
A merchant token issued by the New York trading firm Talbot, Allum & Lee to help ease the shortage of small change in the 1790s, featuring a sailing ship on the obverse.
United States
George V Fifty Cents
Canada's fifty-cent silver coin issued under King George V, spanning a reduction in silver fineness in 1920 and including the famously rare 1921 date.
Canadian
1873 Doubled Die Two-Cent Piece
A doubled die variety from the final year of the short-lived two-cent piece, showing noticeable doubling in the date or lettering caused by a die hubbing misalignment.
Errors & Varieties
Victorian Silver Five Cents
The small sterling silver five-cent coin struck under Queen Victoria for the Province of Canada and later the Dominion of Canada, issued intermittently from 1858 to 1901.
Canadian
1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece
The most commonly encountered date in the short-lived US twenty-cent piece series, struck in large numbers at San Francisco in the coin's debut year.
United States
1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece
One of the great rarities of United States coinage: a Carson City twenty-cent piece of which nearly the entire mintage was melted, leaving only a small number of survivors known.
United States
George V Five Cents (silver)
The last era of Canadian silver five-cent coins, struck under King George V until nickel replaced silver in 1922, including the legendary rarity of the 1921 date.
Canadian
1873 Two-Cent Piece (Proof Only)
The final year of the two-cent piece, struck only in proof for collectors rather than for circulation, and split into Closed 3 and Open 3 date varieties.
United States
1888/7 Indian Head Cent Overdate
A scarce overdate variety of the Indian Head cent in which traces of an underlying 7 are visible beneath the final 8 in the 1888 date, from a working die repunched with a new year.
Errors & Varieties
1921 Fifty Cents (King of Canadian Coins)
Canada's most famous rarity, the 1921 fifty-cent piece survives in only a small number of known examples after most of its mintage was melted, earning it the nickname King of Canadian Coins.
Canadian
George V Twenty-Five Cents (silver)
Canada's silver twenty-five-cent coin struck under King George V, a series notable for its famous 1921 key date and a rare 1936 emergency dot variety.
Canadian
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
Bronze Indian Head Cent
The bronze-alloy Indian Head cent struck from 1864 through 1909, replacing the earlier copper-nickel version and serving as the last cent design before Lincoln's portrait appeared in 1909.
United States
Lincoln-Illinois Centennial Half Dollar
A 1918 U.S. commemorative half dollar marking Illinois's 100th anniversary of statehood, featuring a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
Commemorative
1804 Draped Bust Quarter
The key date of the short Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle quarter series, the 1804 issue had a very small original mintage and ranks among the rarest and most valuable early United States quarters in any condition.
United States
1805 Draped Bust Quarter
A far more available date than the famous 1804, the 1805 quarter is a popular representative of the Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle type for collectors building an early American type set.
United States
1793 Chain Cent
The very first cent struck for circulation by the U.S. Mint, dated 1793, famous for its short-lived and controversial 15-link chain reverse.
United States
1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel Overdate
A famous overdate error on the Buffalo Nickel where a leftover 1917 working die was hand-repunched with an 1918 date, leaving traces of the underlying 7 visible beneath the 8.
Errors & Varieties
1955 Jefferson Nickel Poor Man's Doubled Die
A minor doubled-die variety on the 1955 Jefferson Nickel's date, nicknamed the 'Poor Man's Doubled Die' as a more affordable alternative to the famous 1955 doubled-die Lincoln Cent.
Errors & Varieties
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
Silver Three-Cent Piece (Trime)
A tiny silver coin created to match the new 3-cent postage rate, the trime is the smallest-diameter coin ever struck by the U.S. Mint.
United States
Australian Penny (1930)
Regarded as the key date of Australian pre-decimal coinage, the 1930 penny is famous for an exceptionally small mintage during the Great Depression.
Africa & Oceania
1895-O Barber Dime
The key date of the Barber dime series, struck in unusually small numbers at the New Orleans Mint and scarce in every grade of preservation.
United States
1874-CC Seated Liberty Dime
A rare Carson City dime with arrows at the date, struck in small numbers and highly prized as one of the great condition rarities among CC-mint dimes.
United States