Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British Decimal Half Penny
The smallest UK decimal coin, a tiny bronze half-penny introduced with decimalisation in 1971, bearing a crown reverse and the Machin portrait of Elizabeth II.
British Isles
Spade Guinea Token
A base-metal imitation of the George III spade guinea, made as a gaming counter or advertising token, with a male profile obverse and a spade-shaped shield reverse.
Token
Irish Pistole
A rare hammered gold emergency coin of 1640s Ireland, marked with its weight in pennyweights and grains rather than a portrait, and rated as a pistole.
Hammered
Irish Gun Money Sixpence
A base-metal emergency sixpence struck for James II in Ireland during the Williamite War, its brass alloy cast from melted guns, bells, and scrap.
Emergency Coinage
Halfcrown of William III
A silver two-shilling-and-sixpence coin of William III showing his laureate profile facing right and crowned cruciform shields of arms, dated 1696.
Milled
Crown of George IV
A milled silver crown of George IV, with a laureate head facing left and Pistrucci's St George and the dragon on the reverse; the photographed piece is dated 1822.
Milled
Counterfeit Guinea
A base-metal (copper or brass) imitation of a George III gold guinea, struck or cast to deceive, showing a right-facing bust and a heraldic shield reverse.
Counterfeit
Anglo-Saxon Sceatta
Tiny thick silver coin of early Anglo-Saxon England, the example showing a stylized bird with geometric patterns and symbolic reverse designs.
Medieval Coins
Israel Half Lira (25th Anniversary)
A silver Israeli half lira dated 1973, the year the young state marked 25 years of independence, carrying a menorah-and-sprigs emblem and a Hebrew value.
World
Pakistan One Rupee
An early coin of newly independent Pakistan, dated 1948, with the GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN legend framing an ornate Islamic geometric and floral design.
South Asia
Philippines One Peso
A silver peso struck for the U.S.-administered Philippine Islands, with a standing Liberty and torch and an eagle-over-shield reverse naming the United States.
Southeast Asia
Qiran of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
A hand-struck silver qiran of the Qajar shah Fath-Ali, carrying Persian calligraphy, a decorative border and crown motif, dated AH 1240–1241 (AD 1825–1826).
Persia / Iran
Philippines 50 Centavos
A 1960s Philippine 50-centavos coin in copper-nickel, its obverse showing an allegorical woman with a torch and its reverse the national coat of arms.
Southeast Asia
World War II 50th Anniversary Silver Dollar
A 1993 U.S. 90% silver dollar in the World War II 50th Anniversary program, showing a D-Day infantryman and a heraldic eagle with an Eisenhower quote.
Modern Commemorative
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle
A 1926 U.S. commemorative $2.50 gold coin marking 150 years of American independence, with Liberty holding a torch and scroll and Independence Hall on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Liberty Head Eagle
A United States $10 gold coin struck 1838-1907, with Christian Gobrecht's coronet-crowned Liberty head and a shielded eagle. The example shown is dated 1839.
Eagle
Roanoke Island Half Dollar
A 1937 U.S. silver half dollar marking 350 years since the Roanoke Island colony and the birth of Virginia Dare, with Sir Walter Raleigh and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
Panama-Pacific Exposition Quarter Eagle
A 1915 gold $2.50 commemorative for San Francisco's Panama-Pacific Exposition, showing Columbia astride a hippocamp and an eagle on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Monroe Doctrine Centennial Half Dollar
A 1923 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking the centennial of the Monroe Doctrine, with jugate portraits of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams.
Classic Commemorative
Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1924 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 300 years of Huguenot and Walloon settlement in America, with two settler profiles and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
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
Capped Head Half Eagle
A U.S. five-dollar gold coin struck 1813–1834, showing a left-facing capped Liberty with stars and a heraldic eagle bearing a shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
Jefferson Nickel
U.S. five-cent piece introduced in 1938, showing Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and his Monticello home on the reverse. 1942–1945 issues are 35% silver.
Nickel Five Cent
Eisenhower Dollar
Large U.S. dollar coin struck 1971–1978 with Eisenhower's profile and an eagle landing on the Moon, most circulation issues in copper-nickel clad.
Dollar