Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Magnentius Double Centenionalis
A large bronze coin of the usurper Magnentius featuring one of the earliest large Christian Chi-Rho symbols on Roman coinage.
Ancient
Arkansas Centennial Half Dollar
A commemorative half dollar marking Arkansas's 100th anniversary of statehood, pairing a Native American profile with an idealized Liberty figure on the obverse.
Commemorative
Monroe Doctrine Centennial Half Dollar
A 1923 U.S. commemorative half dollar marking the 100th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine, featuring an allegorical map of the Americas.
Commemorative
Mexican Gold Centenario (50 Pesos)
Mexico's iconic gold coin, first struck in 1921 to mark a century of independence, depicting the Angel of Independence and still produced today as bullion.
Bullion
Lincoln-Illinois Centennial Half Dollar
A 1918 U.S. commemorative half dollar marking Illinois's 100th anniversary of statehood, featuring a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
Commemorative
Texas Independence Centennial Half Dollar
A commemorative half dollar marking the 100th anniversary of Texas independence from Mexico, featuring an eagle on a lone star and figures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin.
Commemorative
Philippine 50 Centavos (Commonwealth, 1936)
A special 1936 silver 50-centavo coin marking the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, issued in two paired-portrait varieties honoring Quezon alongside Murphy or Roosevelt.
Asian
Finnish Markka
Finland's national currency from the era of Russian imperial rule until the adoption of the euro, issued in a range of coin denominations reflecting the country's changing political history.
European
Turban Head Eagle
The first U.S. $10 gold coin, struck 1795-1804 and nicknamed 'Turban Head' for Liberty's cap-like headdress; the earliest examples pair her portrait with a small, spread-winged eagle.
United States
Spanish Peseta
The peseta was Spain's national currency for over 130 years, evolving from silver coinage under a provisional 19th-century government to copper-nickel coins used until the euro replaced it in 2002.
European
Costa Rica 2 Colones Gold
A small gold denomination from Costa Rica's early colon-era coinage, part of a family of gold coins (2, 5, 10, and 20 colones) struck around the turn of the twentieth century.
Latin American
New Zealand Florin (pre-decimal)
New Zealand's pre-decimal florin, famous for its kiwi-bird reverse design, circulated from 1933 until decimalization replaced it with the 20-cent coin in 1967.
Africa & Oceania
1866 Shield Nickel With Rays
The first-year Shield Nickel design featuring thirteen rays between the reverse stars, marking the debut of the United States' first copper-nickel five-cent coin.
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
Australian Florin (pre-decimal)
Pre-decimal Australian silver florin worth two shillings, minted from 1910 until decimalization replaced it with the 20-cent coin in 1966.
Africa & Oceania
1943 'V' Victory Nickel (tombac)
A wartime Canadian five-cent coin struck in golden tombac with a bold V for Victory and a Morse code message around its edge, issued when nickel metal was diverted to the war effort.
Canadian
Buffalo Nickel
Beloved American five-cent coin featuring a Native American portrait and an American bison, designed by James Earle Fraser and celebrated for its distinctly American imagery.
United States
Three-Dollar Gold Piece
An unusual and short-lived gold denomination created partly to simplify buying sheets of three-cent postage stamps, now a favorite oddity among gold coin collectors.
United States
Napoleon 20 Franc Gold Coin
A historic French gold coin first struck under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803, later issued under successive French governments and long used as a benchmark gold coin across Europe.
European
South African Mandela R5 Coin
South African circulating commemorative five-rand coin honoring Nelson Mandela, first issued for his 90th birthday in 2008 and again for his birth centenary in 2018.
Commemorative
Chinese Song Dynasty Cash Coin
A round bronze coin with a square center hole issued during China's Song Dynasty, among the most massively produced and commonly collected pre-modern Chinese coin types.
Asian
Korean Sang Pyong Tong Bo (Mun cash coin)
Traditional Korean cast cash coin with a square center hole, issued for over two centuries during the Joseon Dynasty and carrying the inscription 'Everlasting Circulating Treasure.'
Asian
Japanese Mon (Kan'ei Tsuho cash coin)
Long-running cast copper or iron cash coin of Edo-period Japan, inscribed 'Kan'ei Tsuho' and produced continuously for well over two centuries.
Asian
Vietnamese Tu Duc Thong Bao (cash coin)
A cast bronze or zinc cash coin issued under Emperor Tự Đức of Vietnam's Nguyễn Dynasty, round with a square center hole in the traditional East Asian style.
Asian