Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Draped Bust Eagle
The formal catalog name for the first U.S. ten-dollar gold coin once it adopted a bold heraldic eagle reverse in 1797, the same coin popularly nicknamed the 'Turban Head' eagle.
United States
Shield Nickel
The first copper-nickel five-cent coin, the Shield Nickel features a national shield on the obverse and was issued from 1866 to 1883, including rare rays and proof-only dates.
United States
Seated Liberty Dime
Struck for over five decades, the Seated Liberty Dime features Christian Gobrecht's seated figure of Liberty and includes many collectible date, mint, and arrows/rays varieties.
United States
British Trade Dollar
A silver trade dollar struck by Britain to compete with the Mexican and Spanish dollars circulating across Hong Kong, China, and Southeast Asia.
Asian
British Gold Britannia
The United Kingdom's flagship gold bullion coin, issued by the Royal Mint since 1987, featuring the classical figure of Britannia and enjoying capital gains tax exemption for UK residents as legal tender.
Bullion
Japanese Trade Dollar
A short-lived Meiji-era silver coin struck to the same weight and fineness as the Mexican and U.S. Trade Dollars so Japan could compete in East Asian commerce.
Asian
Vietnamese Gia Long Thong Bao (cash coin)
The founding cash coin of Vietnam's Nguyễn Dynasty, cast under Emperor Gia Long who reunified the country in 1802 and established Huế as the imperial capital.
Asian
Bavaria Thaler
The historic large silver coin of Bavaria, struck across centuries by its electors and kings, capturing the state's political and artistic history until Germany's currency unification in the 1870s.
European
Hong Kong Dollar (1866–1868 Silver Dollar)
A short-lived silver dollar struck at Britain's ill-fated Hong Kong Mint, bearing Queen Victoria's portrait and intended to compete with Mexican and Chinese silver in Asian trade.
Asian
Japanese 1 Yen Silver 'Dragon' Trade Dollar
A Meiji-era Japanese silver yen featuring a coiled dragon, struck to standardize Japan's currency and, in a special trade dollar variant, to compete with Mexican and other silver dollars across East Asia.
Asian
French Indochina Piastre de Commerce
A large silver trade dollar issued by colonial French Indochina, weighted to match the Mexican and Spanish trade dollars already circulating throughout Southeast Asian and Chinese commerce.
Asian
Panticapaeum Gold Stater (Pan/Griffin)
Gold stater of Panticapaeum, capital of the Bosporan Kingdom on the Crimean peninsula, showing the bearded head of Pan and a griffin standing on a grain ear.
Ancient
1793 Wreath Cent
The second cent design of 1793, replacing the controversial Chain cent with a wreath reverse, and one of three distinct cent types struck that founding year.
United States
1982 Copper/Zinc Transition Lincoln Cent
The single year the Lincoln cent's composition changed mid-year from 95% copper bronze to copper-plated zinc, producing seven recognized date, mint, and metal varieties.
Errors & Varieties
Ides of March Denarius (EID MAR)
A denarius struck by Brutus in 42 BC commemorating Julius Caesar's assassination, showing daggers and a liberty cap — one of the most famous and valuable ancient coins ever made.
Ancient
French 5 Francs Hercules
A large silver crown depicting an allegorical Hercules flanked by Liberty and Equality, struck at pivotal republican moments in French history as a statement of civic ideals.
European
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
Probus Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Probus, a capable soldier-emperor who defended the frontiers against Germanic incursions and issued coinage noted for elaborate consular and military portrait styles.
Ancient
St George Sovereign (Pistrucci)
The modern gold sovereign's iconic reverse showing St George slaying the dragon, engraved by Benedetto Pistrucci in 1817 and still used on British sovereigns to this day.
British
Prussian Vereinsthaler
A standardized silver thaler struck by the Kingdom of Prussia under the 1857 Vienna Monetary Treaty, unifying weight and fineness across many German and Austrian states before German unification.
European
Argentina 8 Reales
Silver 8 reales struck after Argentina's 1810 independence movement, replacing the Spanish king's portrait with the revolutionary Sun of May and clasped hands design.
Latin American
Julius Caesar Elephant Denarius
One of the most widely recognized ancient Roman coins, struck under Julius Caesar's authority and depicting an elephant trampling a serpent, likely a symbolic image tied to Caesar's political struggles.
Ancient
Lydian Croeseid (Croesus Stater)
One of history's earliest bimetallic coinages, struck under the legendary King Croesus of Lydia, featuring the confronting foreparts of a lion and a bull.
Ancient