Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Half Pahlavi Gold Coin
A small Iranian gold coin worth half a Pahlavi, showing Reza Shah in a military cap on one side and the Lion and Sun with a crown on the other.
Persia / Iran
Quincunx of Capua
Bronze quincunx (5 unciae) struck by Capua in Campania in the 3rd century BC, pairing a diademed female head with a lion or griffin and five value pellets.
Ancient
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
Hawaii State Quarter
The 2008 Hawaii State Quarter, final coin in the 50 State Quarters series, showing King Kamehameha I reaching over the islands.
Quarter
Brutus & Plaetorius Denarius
The silver EID MAR denarius: M. Junius Brutus on the obverse, a Phrygian cap between two daggers and EID MAR on the reverse, struck 42 BC.
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
Israel Half Lira (25th Anniversary)
A silver Israeli half lira dated 1973, the year the young state marked 25 years of independence, carrying a menorah-and-sprigs emblem and a Hebrew value.
World
Minnesota State Quarter
2005 U.S. 25-cent coin in the 50 State Quarters series, showing Minnesota's outline, a common loon, anglers in a boat, and pines above 1858.
Quarter
Gold Dinar of al-Mustanjid
A hand-struck Abbasid gold dinar of Caliph al-Mustanjid, bearing only Arabic calligraphy within concentric ring borders and dated AH 557.
Islamic (Medieval)
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian
Texas Centennial Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar (1934–1938) marking a century of Texas independence, with a spread-winged eagle over a large star on the obverse.
Classic Commemorative
Missouri Centennial Half Dollar
A 1921 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 100 years of Missouri statehood, with a coonskin-capped frontiersman facing left and a frontier-scene reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Israel 10 Sheqalim Hanukka Commemorative
A silver Bank of Israel commemorative from the annual Hanukka series, showing a historic Hanukka lamp with stars, dated 1983 and valued at 10 Sheqalim.
World
20 Kroner
Danish aluminum-bronze 20 Kroner of 1990 honoring Queen Margrethe II, with a crown over a marguerite daisy and the dates 1940 and 1990.
Modern
Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1924 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 300 years of Huguenot and Walloon settlement in America, with two settler profiles and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
Jackie Robinson Silver Dollar
A 1997 U.S. silver dollar honoring Jackie Robinson and the 50th anniversary of his breaking baseball's color barrier, with an action portrait and eagle reverse.
Modern Commemorative
Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Silver Dollar
A 1992 U.S. 90% silver commemorative dollar marking 500 years since Columbus's 1492 voyage, with a standing Columbus obverse and a sailing-ship reverse.
Modern Commemorative
Denarius of Cassius Longinus
Silver denarius struck in 42 BC by Gaius Cassius Longinus, one of Caesar's assassins, to pay his legions before the Battle of Philippi.
Ancient
Aureus of Nero
Roman imperial gold aureus of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD), showing his curly-haired portrait facing right with a Latin imperial legend.
Ancient Coins
Gold Dinar of al-Hafiz li-Din Allah
A hand-struck Fatimid gold dinar of the caliph al-Hafiz li-Din Allah, carrying only Arabic calligraphy in concentric ring borders and dated AH 544.
Islamic (Medieval)
Pennsylvania State Quarter
1999 U.S. 25-cent piece, second in the 50 State Quarters series, showing the Commonwealth statue, state outline, and a keystone for Pennsylvania.
Quarter
Bronze Coin of Cleopatra VII
Ptolemaic bronze coin of Cleopatra VII of Egypt, 51-30 BC, showing her draped diademed bust in profile as sole named female ruler of the dynasty.
Ancient
Sestertius of Nero (Port of Ostia)
A large brass sestertius of the emperor Nero (54–68 AD) showing his portrait on one side and a bird's-eye view of the harbour at Ostia on the other.
Ancient