Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Standing Liberty Quarter
U.S. 90% silver quarter struck 1916–1930, showing a standing Liberty with shield on the obverse and an eagle in flight on the reverse.
Quarter
Seated Liberty Dime with Arrows
A silver Seated Liberty dime with small arrows flanking the date, marking the 1853 weight reduction; struck 1853–1855, with the pictured coin dated 1853.
Dime
Braided Hair Large Cent
The last U.S. large copper cent: Liberty in a beaded coronet with braided hair, ringed by stars, over a laurel-wreath ONE CENT reverse.
Large Cent
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
Nasidius Denarius
Roman Republican silver denarius struck for Sextus Pompey's admiral Q. Nasidius, showing Pompey the Great's head and a galley marked NASIDIVS.
Ancient
1 Grosz
A small 1949 Polish one-grosz coin bearing the crownless national eagle and RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA, with the value 1 GROSZ framed by grain on the reverse.
Modern
10 Markka
Finland's largest circulating markka coin: a bimetallic 10 markkaa with a capercaillie bird on the obverse, struck 1993–2001 until the euro.
World
French Cérès 1 Franc
A .835 silver French 1 Franc showing the goddess Cérès in a liberty cap; this example is an 1895 Third Republic issue with a wreath-and-value reverse.
Circulation
British Penny
Large bronze pre-decimal British penny showing King George VI in profile, struck for circulation in the 1930s through early 1950s.
World Coins
Austrian 4-fold Ducat
A large Austrian gold 4 Ducat dated 1915, showing Emperor Franz Joseph I in uniform and the crowned double-headed imperial eagle.
Bullion/gold
New Zealand Sixpence
New Zealand's small silver sixpence, famed for its native-bird reverse. This 1934 example shows King George V and the bird design with NEW ZEALAND SIXPENCE.
New Zealand
British Columbia Centennial Dollar
A 1958 Canadian silver dollar marking British Columbia's centennial, showing a Pacific Northwest totem pole and the dates 1858–1958.
Canadian & Provincial
Canadian Two Dollar (Toonie)
Canada's bimetallic $2 coin, introduced in 1996 with a polar bear design; universally nicknamed the 'toonie' after the loonie dollar.
Canadian & Provincial
Spade Guinea
A late George III gold guinea named for the distinctive spade-shaped shield on its reverse, struck in England from 1787 into the early 1800s.
Milled
Japanese 20 Yen
Early Meiji-era Japanese gold coin showing a dragon among clouds on one side and a floral design with the 20 yen denomination on the other.
World Coins
Japanese 5 Yen
Small Meiji-era Japanese gold coin with an imperial chrysanthemum and characters on the obverse and a floral wreath framing the 5 Yen value.
World Coins
Liberty Head Half Eagle
United States $5 gold coin with a left-facing Liberty head ringed by stars and a spread-winged eagle reverse; the pictured piece is dated 1838.
United States
Cape Verde 100 Escudos
A bi-metallic Cape Verde 100 escudos with a botanical theme, its silver-colored center showing the endemic Aeonium gorgoneum plant.
World
Qian Feng Quan Bao
A round bronze Tang cash coin with a square center hole, cast under Emperor Gaozong in the short-lived Qianfeng era and worth ten ordinary cash.
Cash Coin
Hong Kong Trade Dollar
A large silver British Trade Dollar with standing Britannia on the obverse and a Chinese dragon reverse, made for commerce across the Far East.
Circulation
Daoguang Tongbao
A round Chinese bronze cash coin with a square center hole, cast under the Qing emperor Daoguang; this example bears the Bao Quan mint mark.
Cash Coin
Caballito Peso
A silver Mexican peso nicknamed for the horse on its obverse: an allegorical figure on horseback holding a torch aloft, backed by the eagle-and-serpent arms.
Circulation
Grant Memorial Gold Dollar
A tiny 1922 U.S. gold dollar honoring Ulysses S. Grant's birth centennial, issued in 'star' and 'no star' varieties from the Philadelphia Mint.
Classic Commemorative
Carver-Washington Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar (1951–1954) honoring George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington, with their jugate profiles on the obverse.
Classic Commemorative