Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Fugio Cent
1787 copper cent, among the first coins issued under the United States, with a sundial and sun on the obverse and thirteen linked rings on the reverse.
Colonial
Edward VI Crown
Hammered English silver crown of Edward VI (1547-1553), the first English crown coin and among the earliest English coins to carry a date.
Hammered
Australian Sovereign
22-carat gold sovereign struck at Australian branch mints; the 1855 Sydney Mint issue was the country's first gold coin.
Australian
Turban Head Eagle
The first U.S. ten-dollar gold coin, struck 1795–1804, with a right-facing Liberty in a soft cap and an eagle reverse.
Eagle
Victoria Maundy Twopence
A tiny sterling-silver ceremonial coin from a Royal Maundy set. This 1845 example shows Victoria's young head and a crowned 2 in a wreath.
British Isles
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
Liberty Head Double Eagle
U.S. $20 gold coin struck 1850–1907, showing a coroneted Liberty head left and a heraldic eagle with shield; the 1869 is a with-motto Type 2.
Double Eagle
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
100 Yen (Showa Silver)
Japan's first 100 Yen coin, in silver: a phoenix in flight on the obverse and a bold radiating 100 on the reverse. Dated Showa 33 (1958).
Circulation
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
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
Booker 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 Commemorative
Roman Centenionalis
A small fourth-century Roman bronze coin, part of the reformed low-value currency struck across the empire's mints during a period of frequent monetary change.
Ancient
1 Litas
A 1991 Lithuanian one-litas coin from the first coinage after restored independence, showing the value with a radiating pattern and the Vytis knight of the national arms.
Modern
Aureus of Augustus
Roman imperial gold coin bearing the bare head of Augustus, first emperor of Rome, struck during his reign from 27 BC to 14 AD.
Ancient Coins
Julius Caesar Denarius
Silver Roman denarius of 44 BC bearing the bareheaded portrait of Julius Caesar, among the first Roman coins to show a living statesman's likeness.
Ancient
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
Lincoln Wheat Cent
U.S. one-cent coin struck 1909–1958 with Lincoln's profile and a pair of wheat ears framing ONE CENT; the 1909-S here is a scarce first-year San Francisco issue.
Small Cent
Indonesia 1000 Rupiah
A 2010 Indonesian 1000-rupiah circulation coin, its obverse bearing the Garuda Pancasila emblem and Bank Indonesia legend, its reverse a traditional monument design.
Southeast Asia
Ceylon 5 Rupees Buddhism Anniversary
Ceylon's 1957 silver five rupees marking 2,500 years of Buddhism, with an ornate 2500 device amid mythological creatures and a scrolled RUPEES reverse.
South Asia
Westward Journey Nickel
A 2004 Jefferson nickel from the Westward Journey series, showing the Lewis & Clark keelboat under sail on the reverse to mark the expedition's bicentennial.
Nickel Five Cent
Groat of Henry VIII
A hand-struck Tudor silver groat (fourpence) of Henry VIII, showing the quartered royal arms within a circle and a long cross reverse.
Hammered
Imitation Abbasid Dirham
A thin, broad silver coin that copies an Abbasid dirham but was struck in northern Europe, with blundered pseudo-Kufic script and a piercing for wear.
Islamic (Medieval)