Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
20 Lei
Romania's first gold coin, the 1870 20 Lei of Prince Carol I, pairing his left-facing portrait with the national coat of arms.
Modern
Canadian One Cent
Bronze Canadian large cent with a maple-leaf wreath reverse; the 1911 issue is the famous first-year 'Godless' cent lacking DEI GRATIA.
Canadian & Provincial
Henry VII Groat
Hammered silver fourpence of Henry VII, first Tudor king, showing a crowned royal portrait on one side and a shield of the English arms on the other.
Medieval Coins
Flowing Hair Half Dollar
The first U.S. half dollar, struck 1794–1795 in silver, with a flowing-hair Liberty facing right and a small eagle within a wreath on the reverse.
Half Dollar
Canadian Silver Dollar
Canada's first circulating silver dollar, the 1935 Voyageur type, showing George V and a canoe with paddlers on the reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
Holey Dollar
Australia's first struck coin: a Spanish silver dollar with its centre punched out, counterstamped NEW SOUTH WALES 1813 and revalued at five shillings.
Australian
Charles II Halfpenny
A milled copper halfpenny of Charles II showing his laureate bust and a seated Britannia, part of the first regal copper coinage of England, dated 1675.
Milled
Kennedy Half Dollar
U.S. fifty-cent piece introduced in 1964 to honor President John F. Kennedy; the first-year 1964 coins were struck in 90% silver.
United States
Turban Head Half Eagle
First U.S. gold $5 coin, 1795: Liberty in a soft cap facing right, with a heraldic shield-breasted eagle reverse struck in 22-karat gold.
Half Eagle
Seated Liberty Half Dime
A tiny 90% silver five-cent piece showing Liberty seated with a shield and Liberty pole; the reverse wreath frames HALF DIME. First struck 1837.
Half Dime
Liberty Cap Half Cent
The first U.S. half cent, struck only in 1793, showing Liberty in a cap facing left with a wreath reverse. A famous one-year copper key date.
Half Cent
Flowing Hair Dollar
The first U.S. silver dollar, struck 1794–1795, with a right-facing Liberty whose hair flows loose amid stars and a small spread-wing eagle reverse.
Dollar
Three-Dollar Gold Piece
An unusual U.S. gold coin of the $3 denomination struck 1854–1889, showing a Liberty head in a feathered Indian-style headdress. The photo shows the 1854 first year.
Gold Type Coin
Sierra Leone 20 Cents
A 1964 Sierra Leone 20 cents from the country's first decimal coinage, showing a portrait profile on one side and the national coat of arms with its lion on the other.
World
Sestertius of Maximinus Thrax
Large Roman bronze sestertius of Maximinus Thrax (235-238 AD), the first soldier-emperor, with a laureate bust facing right.
Ancient
Australian Sovereign
22-carat gold sovereign struck at Australian branch mints; the 1855 Sydney Mint issue was the country's first gold coin.
Australian
Peace Dollar
U.S. 90% silver dollar first struck in 1921, with a radiant-crowned Liberty head and a perched eagle over the word PEACE.
Dollar
Flying 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 Cent
Capped Bust Eagle
The first United States gold ten-dollar coin, struck 1795–1804 with a capped Liberty bust and, in later years, a heraldic eagle bearing a shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
New Zealand Florin
New Zealand's silver two-shilling coin; this 1933 first-year example shows a kiwi and the legend NEW ZEALAND ONE FLORIN.
New Zealand
Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar first issued in 1926, famed for its westbound covered wagon and standing Native American designs.
Classic Commemorative
Columbian Exposition Half Dollar
The first U.S. commemorative half dollar, issued for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition with Christopher Columbus on the obverse and his three ships on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Draped 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.
Quarter
Solidus of Arcadius
A late Roman gold solidus struck for Arcadius, first emperor of the East after AD 395, showing his diademed profile facing right.
Ancient