Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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 StatesJapanese 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 CoinsJapanese 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 CoinsCape Verde 100 Escudos
A bi-metallic Cape Verde 100 escudos with a botanical theme, its silver-colored center showing the endemic Aeonium gorgoneum plant.
WorldGrant 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 CommemorativeCarver-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 CommemorativeBooker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar (1946–1951) honoring educator Booker T. Washington, the first African American portrayed on a U.S. coin.
Classic CommemorativeAmerican Palladium Eagle
The U.S. Mint's one-ounce .9995 fine palladium bullion coin, launched in 2017 with classic Weinman Mercury dime and eagle designs.
BullionSeated Liberty Quarter
U.S. twenty-five-cent silver coin struck 1838–1891, showing Liberty seated with shield and staff on the obverse and a shield-breasted eagle on the reverse.
QuarterDraped Bust Quarter
The first United States quarter dollar, struck in silver with a draped Liberty and border stars on the obverse and an eagle reverse; the type began in 1796.
QuarterEisenhower Dollar Bicentennial
U.S. one-dollar coin for the 1976 Bicentennial, with Eisenhower's profile and a special Liberty Bell superimposed on the Moon reverse.
DollarFlying Eagle Cent
America's first small cent, showing an eagle in flight on the obverse and an agricultural wreath on the reverse; struck 1856–1858 in copper-nickel.
Small CentFlowing Hair Large Cent
An early U.S. copper cent showing Liberty with flowing hair and a liberty cap, ONE CENT in a wreath on the reverse; the photographed piece is dated 1794.
Large CentQian 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 CoinHong 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.
CirculationDaoguang 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 CoinCaballito 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.
Circulation10 Para
Small Ottoman silver 10 Para dated AH 1280 (1863-1864), with the sultan's calligraphic tughra on one side and an ornamental Arabic-script inscription on the other.
Early Modern2 Koruny
A circulating Czech Republic coin introduced in 1993, known by its eleven-sided shape, the Czech heraldic lion, and a Great Moravian jewel motif beside 2 Kč.
Modern3 Roubles (First All-Russian Coins)
Soviet 1982 commemorative 3 Roubles honoring the first all-Russian coins, showing three historical 18th-century Russian coins with the state emblem reverse.
CommemorativeGerman 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.
CommemorativeFrench Semeuse 1 Franc
France's classic silver 1 franc showing the Semeuse (Sower) with a liberty cap, backed by an oak-and-olive wreath around the value; this example is dated 1916.
CirculationEast India Company Rupee
British East India Company silver rupee struck to the Mughal pattern, carrying only Persian/Urdu calligraphy naming the reigning emperor.
British IndiaIrish 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