Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Philippines 50 Centavos
A 1960s Philippine 50-centavos coin in copper-nickel, its obverse showing an allegorical woman with a torch and its reverse the national coat of arms.
Southeast Asia
Erstein Notgeld 50 Pfennigs
A 1917 German emergency-money token for 50 Pfennigs from Erstein in Alsace, with the town coat of arms on the obverse and a large 50 on the reverse.
Token/notgeld
Lysimachos Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Lysimachos of Thrace, c. 297-282 BC, showing the deified head of Alexander the Great and Athena seated with a shield and spear.
Ancient
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
Trinidad and Tobago 50 Cents
A large copper-nickel Caribbean circulation coin; the 1967 example carries the national coat of arms and country name on the obverse and the 50-cent value on the reverse.
Circulation
Shilling of Victoria
A milled sterling-silver British shilling of Queen Victoria, worth twelvepence, with the queen's head on the obverse and a crowned 'ONE SHILLING' reverse.
Milled
Sovereign of George IV
A milled gold sovereign of Great Britain struck under George IV, with the king's laureate head and Pistrucci's St George slaying the dragon reverse, dated 1821.
Milled
Brunei Golden Jubilee 50 Cents
A copper-nickel 50-cent coin from Brunei's 2017 Golden Jubilee, showing a palm-leaf design with Arabic text and a reverse with the value and a floral motif.
Southeast Asia
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
Half Sovereign
A small British 22-carat gold coin worth ten shillings; this example shows Queen Victoria's veiled, crowned Jubilee Head portrait and is dated 1887.
World Coins
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
Bhutan 500 Ngultrum Commemorative
Modern Bhutanese silver commemorative dated 2008, with a portrait of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and an ornate dragon-and-mythical-creature reverse.
Himalayan
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, c. 305-283 BC, with his diademed portrait and the Ptolemaic eagle standing on a thunderbolt.
Ancient
Seleucus I Nicator Tetradrachm
Large silver tetradrachm of Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire, showing a horned Alexander-type head and a mounted figure with a spear.
Ancient
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin
Spirit of ANZAC Commemorative 50 Cents
A 2015 Australian silver-finish 50-cent commemorative marking the centenary of ANZAC, with soldier imagery and 1915-2015 dating.
Commemoratives
Clark & Co Territorial Gold Half Eagle
An 1860 privately struck $5 gold piece from Clark, Gruber & Co. of Denver, coined from Pikes Peak gold during the Colorado gold rush.
Half Eagle
Shilling of George III
A milled silver shilling of George III from the Great Recoinage, with his laureate bust facing right and a crowned quartered royal shield within the Garter.
Milled
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
Crown of George IV
A milled silver crown of George IV, with a laureate head facing left and Pistrucci's St George and the dragon on the reverse; the photographed piece is dated 1822.
Milled
Yuan Shikai Dollar
A silver one-yuan dollar of the early Chinese Republic bearing the left-facing bust of Yuan Shikai, nicknamed the "Fatman Dollar" by collectors.
Circulation
Mercury Dime Centennial Gold
A 2016-W gold collector coin marking the centennial of the 1916 Mercury dime, struck in 1/10 oz of 24-karat gold at West Point.
Dime
500 Yen Niigata Prefecture Commemorative
A modern Japanese 500 Yen commemorative for Niigata Prefecture, showing a traditional ship that celebrates the region's maritime and port heritage.
Commemorative
World War II 50th Anniversary Silver Dollar
A 1993 U.S. 90% silver dollar in the World War II 50th Anniversary program, showing a D-Day infantryman and a heraldic eagle with an Eisenhower quote.
Modern Commemorative