Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1951 Nickel Commemorative Five Cents
A special Canadian five-cent coin marking the 200th anniversary of the isolation of the element nickel, struck in the metal itself to honor Canada's role as a leading nickel producer.
Commemorative
1883 No Cents Liberty Head Nickel
The first-year Liberty Head Nickel design that omitted the word CENTS from the reverse, later infamous as the 'Racketeer Nickel' after being gold-plated and passed off as a five-dollar coin.
United States
1842-O Small Date Seated Liberty Quarter
A famous condition and date rarity of the Seated Liberty series, struck at New Orleans from leftover small-date dies originally prepared for Philadelphia proof coinage.
United States
South African Silver Krugerrand
The silver version of the world-famous Krugerrand, launched in 2017 to mark the gold coin's 50th anniversary, using the same Kruger and springbok design.
Bullion
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle
A $2.50 gold commemorative issued for the 150th anniversary of American independence, showing a standing Liberty with the Declaration of Independence and Independence Hall.
Commemorative
Half Guinea
Smaller companion gold coin to the guinea, worth half its value, struck across the same reigns from Charles II through George III for mid-value transactions.
British
Halfpenny
A small British bronze coin worth half a penny, best known in its twentieth-century form featuring Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind on the reverse.
British
Native American Dollar (Sacagawea Reverse Series)
A continuation of the Sacagawea dollar with an annually changing reverse honoring Native American history and culture, while keeping Sacagawea's portrait on the obverse.
United States
South African Republic Burgers Pond
The first coin struck for an independent South African state, issued in 1874 under President Thomas Burgers of the Transvaal, famous for its 'coarse beard' and 'fine beard' portrait varieties.
Africa & Oceania
Panama-Pacific Quarter Eagle Commemorative
A 1915 commemorative gold coin honoring the Panama-Pacific Exposition, showing Liberty riding a hippocampus (sea horse), symbolizing the Panama Canal's linking of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Commemorative
Classic Head Quarter Eagle
Struck from 1834 to 1839 after Congress reduced the gold weight of U.S. coins, this quarter eagle dropped the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM and features a simplified Liberty head.
United States
Chile Peso (Condor)
Chilean coinage featuring the Andean condor perched or in flight, first seen on 19th-century gold pesos and later on the everyday circulating peso coin.
Latin American
British Britannia
The United Kingdom's official gold and silver bullion coin, featuring the classical helmeted figure of Britannia, issued by the Royal Mint since 1987.
Bullion
Florentine Florin
Introduced in 1252, the gold florin of Florence became medieval Europe's leading trade coin, its lily emblem and fixed gold standard copied by dozens of other mints.
European
Crown of the Double Rose
A gold coin introduced by Henry VIII in 1526 as part of his coinage reform, named for the crowned Tudor double rose on its reverse.
British
French Louis d'Or
The Louis d'Or was the principal gold coin of the French monarchy for over 150 years, named after the kings Louis who issued it, and struck until the eve of the Revolution.
European
Classic Head Half Eagle ($5)
A short-lived early American gold five-dollar coin created after the Coinage Act of 1834 reduced gold coin weight to keep coins in circulation rather than being melted.
United States
Brasher Doubloon
A famous privately struck gold coin made in 1787 by New York goldsmith Ephraim Brasher, a neighbor of George Washington, and one of the most valuable and celebrated coins in American numismatics.
United States
Liberty Head Half Eagle ($5)
A widely produced 19th-century gold five-dollar coin bearing Christian Gobrecht's Coronet Head design, struck across nearly every major American branch mint of the era.
United States
Quarter Guinea
A rarely issued small gold coin worth one-quarter of a guinea, struck only in 1718 under George I and again briefly in 1762 under George III.
British
Liberty Head Quarter Eagle ($2.50)
A small 19th-century gold coin featuring Christian Gobrecht's Coronet Head design, minted across many branch facilities during America's gold rush era.
United States
California Diamond Jubilee Half Dollar
A 1925 commemorative half dollar marking California's 75th anniversary of statehood, featuring a kneeling gold prospector obverse and a walking grizzly bear reverse.
Commemorative
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
Philip the Arab Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Philip the Arab, notable for celebrating Rome's 1,000th anniversary in 248 AD with a memorable series of animal-themed 'Saecular Games' reverse types.
Ancient