Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Una and the Lion Five Pounds
William Wyon's 1839 gold Five Pounds pairs a young Queen Victoria with Una guiding a lion — widely praised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
British Isles
British India One Pice
A small holed copper-bronze One Pice of British India under George VI, dated 1945, its obverse crowned and lettered INDIA and PICE around a central hole.
British India
New Zealand Halfpenny
New Zealand's small bronze halfpenny, struck from 1940, with a royal portrait obverse and a Maori hei-tiki reverse. The coin shown is a 1940 George VI issue.
New Zealand
Five Guineas of Anne
Queen Anne's largest gold coin, the celebrated 1703 issue struck with VIGO below the bust from gold captured at the Battle of Vigo Bay.
Milled
Australian Penny
Large bronze pre-decimal Australian penny with a leaping kangaroo, AUSTRALIA and PENNY on one side and a monarch's bust on the other.
World Coins
Australian Crown
Australia's only crown (five-shilling) coin, a large sterling-silver piece struck in 1937 and 1938 with a George VI portrait and a crown reverse.
Australian
Gold Sovereign
The British gold sovereign: a one-pound gold coin. This 1817 George III example shows a laureate bust and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms.
World
Cartwheel Twopence
The massive 1797 copper twopence of George III, famous for its broad raised rim and full ounce of copper, struck at Boulton's Soho Mint.
Milled
South Africa Farthing
The smallest bronze coin of the Union of South Africa, a quarter-penny with a crowned royal portrait and a South African bird reverse.
World
Australian Florin
Australia's pre-decimal silver two-shilling coin, showing the Commonwealth coat of arms with kangaroo and emu supporters and the reigning monarch.
World Coins
Cartwheel Penny
The heavy 1797 copper penny of George III, with a broad raised rim and sunken lettering, struck by steam power at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint.
Milled
Counterfeit Guinea
A base-metal (copper or brass) imitation of a George III gold guinea, struck or cast to deceive, showing a right-facing bust and a heraldic shield reverse.
Counterfeit
Imitation Guinea Gaming Piece
A brass or bronze token imitating a George III spade guinea, made for card games and gaming tables rather than as legal-tender money.
British Isles
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
2 Fillér
A small early-20th-century Hungarian 2 fillér in copper-based bronze, showing the crowned Hungarian coat of arms on the obverse and the value with date on the reverse.
Modern
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
British Shilling
Small Victorian silver shilling showing Queen Victoria's crowned, veiled Jubilee portrait and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
World Coins
2.5 Escudos
A copper-nickel 2.5 Escudos of the Portuguese Republic, showing a sailing caravel on the obverse and the national shield with the value 2$50.
Modern
Medal of Honor Commemorative Half Eagle
US 2011 gold $5 commemorative honoring the Medal of Honor, showing the Army version of the medal above a Corinthian column.
Commemoratives
British Silver Threepence
Tiny sterling-silver threepence of Queen Victoria; the young-head type shown here dates to 1858 and is one of Britain's smallest circulating coins.
British Isles
Godless Florin
Britain's first florin, struck only in 1849 and nicknamed "Godless" because it dropped "Dei Gratia" from Queen Victoria's titles.
British Isles
Gothic Florin
A silver two-shilling florin of Queen Victoria in the medieval-revival Gothic style, with an ornate crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1869.
Milled
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