Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Sestertius of Didius Julianus
A large bronze/orichalcum sestertius of Didius Julianus, the emperor who reigned only weeks in 193 AD — rare, historically charged, and much sought after.
Ancient
Speciedaler
Large early-modern Norwegian silver crown of the Dano-Norwegian kingdom, showing a crowned royal bust and the Norwegian lion shield, dated 1628.
Early Modern
½ Skilling
A small copper Danish half skilling of 1771, showing a royal crown over the king's cipher and the value ½ SKILLING DANMARK K:M on the reverse.
Early Modern
German 2 Reichsmark (Hindenburg)
Third Reich silver 2 Reichsmark showing an eagle over a swastika shield and, on the other side, Paul von Hindenburg with the value and date.
Circulation
Long Island Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking 300 years of settlement on Long Island, with accolated settler and Native American heads and a Dutch sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
Dirham of Kamal al-Dawla Gharib
Silver dirham from 10th-century Iraq/Mesopotamia naming the ruler Gharib with the honorific Kamal al-Dawla, struck with Kufic Arabic legends.
Medieval Islamic
Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Silver Dollar
A 1992 U.S. 90% silver commemorative dollar marking 500 years since Columbus's 1492 voyage, with a standing Columbus obverse and a sailing-ship reverse.
Modern Commemorative
Isabella Quarter
The 1893 Isabella Quarter is the only U.S. commemorative quarter dollar, made for the Columbian Exposition's Board of Lady Managers.
Classic Commemorative
McKinley Memorial Gold Dollar
A small U.S. gold commemorative dollar honoring President William McKinley, sold to fund the memorial at his Niles, Ohio birthplace.
Classic Commemorative
Gold Dinar of al-Muqtadi
An aniconic Abbasid gold dinar of Caliph al-Muqtadi, covered on both faces with Arabic calligraphy and ornamental borders, struck in the later 11th century.
Islamic (Medieval)
Hawaiian Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
A scarce 1928 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 150 years since Captain James Cook's arrival in the Hawaiian Islands.
Classic Commemorative
Norfolk Bicentennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar honoring Norfolk, Virginia, with the city's Royal Mace on the reverse and dates 1636-1936; a low-mintage classic commemorative.
Classic Commemorative
Brunei Silver Jubilee Commemorative
A bronze Brunei commemorative marking the 1949 Silver Jubilee of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, dated SEPT 1924 to SEPT 1949 with his right-facing portrait.
Southeast Asia
Ceylon 5 Rupees
A 1957 Ceylon silver 5 Rupees marking 2500 years of Buddhism, with a large 2500 on one side and RUPEES CEYLON with the 1957 date on the other.
Commemorative
Lower Canada Bank Penny Token
Copper 1837 penny token of Lower Canada with a standing habitant and PROVINCE DU BAS CANADA obverse and a crowned heraldic-arms reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
Capped Bust Quarter Eagle
A one-year U.S. gold $2.50 piece struck only in 1808, with John Reich's capped Liberty obverse and a heraldic eagle reverse. A classic rarity.
Quarter Eagle
American Arts Commemorative Series Gold Medallion
A U.S. Treasury gold bullion medallion series (1980–1984) honoring American artists; the photographed 1981 one-ounce piece features author Mark Twain.
Bullion Medallion
Cartwheel Penny
The heavy 1797 copper penny of George III, with a broad raised rim and sunken lettering, struck by steam power at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint.
Milled
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar celebrating the opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, with a bridge span and a California grizzly bear.
Classic Commemorative
Bonn Notgeld 50 Pfennig
A German emergency-money (Notgeld) 50 Pfennig of the city of Bonn, dated 1920, with the civic arms on the obverse and a Beethoven profile on the reverse.
Token/notgeld
Constitutional Ecu
A French silver ecu of the constitutional-monarchy era showing King Louis XVI on the obverse and a standing armed Liberty figure on the reverse, dated 1792.
Revolutionary
Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
A 1925 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking the 150th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, showing the Concord Minuteman and the Old Belfry.
Classic Commemorative
California Diamond Jubilee Half Dollar
A 1925 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking California's 75th year of statehood, designed by Jo Mora with a gold miner and a grizzly bear.
Classic Commemorative