Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, c. 305-283 BC, with his diademed portrait and the Ptolemaic eagle standing on a thunderbolt.
Ancient
Gobrecht Dollar
U.S. silver dollar of 1836 by engraver Christian Gobrecht, pairing a Seated Liberty obverse with a flying-eagle reverse; a rare pattern-era issue.
Dollar
Spanish Colonial Cob 2 Reales
A crude hand-struck silver cob worth a quarter of a piece of eight, showing a cross on one side and the Habsburg Spanish arms on the other.
Cob Coinage
Draped Bust Dime
The first United States dime, struck in silver 1796–1807, with a draped Liberty and border stars on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse.
United States
Spanish Colonial 2 Reales (Milled)
A small milled silver coin of the Spanish Empire, struck in colonial American mints; this example is dated 1776 and shows heraldic lions, castles and a crowned shield.
Colonial
Austria-Hungary 1/4 Kreuzer
A small copper 1/4 Kreuzer of the Austrian Empire dated 1816, showing Emperor Franz I in crowned right-facing profile.
Circulation
Austrian Award Medal
A silver Austrian award medal with a crowned double-headed eagle bearing a coat of arms on the obverse and a decorative heraldic shield on the reverse.
Medal
Ancient Hellenistic Tetradrachm
A large Hellenistic silver tetradrachm with a bearded, curly-haired head on the obverse and an eagle standing on a thunderbolt on the reverse.
Ancient
Draped Bust Half Dollar
Early U.S. silver fifty-cent piece of 1796–1807. The pictured 1796 Small Eagle with 15 stars is among the rarest of all American coins.
Half Dollar
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII of Egypt, c. 170-116 BC, with a diademed royal head on the obverse and an eagle on a thunderbolt reverse.
Ancient
Egyptian 20 Piastres Commemorative
A cupro-nickel Egyptian 20 piastres commemorative dated 1980, with an ornate Arabic calligraphic obverse and a heraldic double-headed eagle reverse.
World
German 5 Reichsmark Garrison Church Commemorative
A 1934 German silver 5 Reichsmark commemorative with a spread-winged Reichsadler and 'Deutsches Reich' on the obverse and the Potsdam Garrison Church reverse.
Commemorative
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy XII
Silver tetradrachm struck under Ptolemy XII of Egypt, father of Cleopatra VII, bearing a diademed royal Ptolemaic head and the dynasty's eagle-on-thunderbolt reverse.
Ancient
Numapis Denarius
A silver denarius of the Roman Republic (1st century BC) pairing a male portrait facing right with a ship or galley and lettering on the reverse.
Ancient
Lincoln Memorial Cent
U.S. one-cent piece struck 1959–2008 with Lincoln's profile and a Memorial reverse; 1982 is the split year between bronze and copper-plated zinc.
Small Cent
Manlius Vulso Æ Sextans
Small Roman Republican bronze sextans signed by the moneyer Manlius Vulso, with a capped male head and the classic prow reverse marked ROMA.
Ancient
Denarius of Cn. Pompeius Magnus
Silver Roman Republican denarius of the Pompeian party (46–45 BC), with a bearded portrait of Pompey the Great and a galley reverse reading PRO COS.
Ancient
English Sixpence
A hammered silver sixpence of James I, showing his crowned profile bust and a quartered royal shield with a long cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Braunschweig-Lüneburg Thaler
A large silver thaler of the German duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, with a many-quartered coat of arms on the obverse and a standing armored figure on the reverse.
German States
British Bank Token
Copper token of the late George III period bearing the king's left-facing bust and a quartered royal-arms reverse, dated 1819.
British Isles
Groat of Henry VIII
A hand-struck Tudor silver groat (fourpence) of Henry VIII, showing the quartered royal arms within a circle and a long cross reverse.
Hammered
Shilling of Edward VI
A hammered Tudor silver shilling of Edward VI, showing the young king's crowned profile and a reverse cross over the quartered royal-arms shield.
World
Alexander the Great Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Alexander III of Macedon with the head of Heracles in a lion skin and an enthroned deity holding an eagle on the reverse.
Ancient
Draped Bust Dollar
Early U.S. silver dollar struck 1795–1804, with a draped bust of Liberty and, from 1798, a heraldic eagle reverse.
Dollar