Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent
The most famous key date in the Lincoln cent series, struck only briefly at the San Francisco Mint with designer Victor D. Brenner's initials on the reverse.
United States
Sixpence
A small British silver coin worth half a shilling, affectionately nicknamed the 'tanner,' beloved for its traditional role tucked into Christmas puddings.
British
Republican Quinarius
A half-denarius silver coin of the Roman Republic, often depicting the twin gods Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri) riding on horseback.
Ancient
1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent
A famous doubled die error showing strong, plainly visible doubling on the date and lettering of the obverse, among the most recognizable die varieties in U.S. coinage.
Errors & Varieties
Wood's Hibernia Halfpenny
A British copper coinage patented by William Wood for Ireland, controversially rejected there but widely circulated instead in colonial America, where large surplus shipments ended up in everyday trade.
United States
Chilean 50 Pesos Gold
A mid-sized Chilean gold coin issued as part of the 1926 gold standard reform, sharing the condor design theme with its larger and smaller companion denominations.
Latin American
Angel
An English gold coin depicting the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon, introduced in 1465 and famously used as a ceremonial 'touch piece' in royal healing rituals.
British
Mexican Estados Unidos 1 Peso 'Morelos'
A mid-twentieth-century Mexican silver peso portraying independence hero José María Morelos, struck in fifty-percent silver for just a few years after World War II.
Latin American
Chinese Ban Liang Cash
China's first standardized round coin with a square center hole, introduced under Qin Shi Huang to unify currency across the newly consolidated Chinese empire.
Ancient
Massachusetts Cent (1787-1788)
State-issued copper coinage struck by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1787 and 1788, notable as the first official U.S. coinage to use the denomination 'cent'.
United States
Coat of Arms Fifty Cents (Elizabeth II)
Canada's modern fifty-cent piece, showing the Canadian coat of arms on the reverse since 1959 under successive obverse portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and, later, King Charles III.
Canadian
1921 Fifty Cents (King of Canadian Coins)
Canada's most famous rarity, the 1921 fifty-cent piece survives in only a small number of known examples after most of its mintage was melted, earning it the nickname King of Canadian Coins.
Canadian
Voyageur Silver Dollar
Canada's iconic silver dollar, first struck in 1935 to mark George V's Silver Jubilee, showing a voyageur and Indigenous guide paddling a canoe.
Canadian
Edward VII Ten Cents
Canada's silver ten-cent coin struck during the brief reign of King Edward VII, bridging the Victorian and Georgian eras of Canadian coinage design.
Canadian
Vatican Euro Coins
Official euro coinage of the world's smallest sovereign state, struck in very limited quantities and highly sought after by euro coin collectors worldwide.
European
Vespasian Denarius
The silver coin of Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, notably including the famous 'Judaea Capta' series commemorating Rome's suppression of the Jewish revolt.
Ancient
Venetian Gold Ducat
First struck in 1284, the Venetian gold ducat became medieval Europe's most trusted trade coin, prized for centuries for its unwavering weight and purity.
European
Venetian Ducat
Gold coin first struck by the Republic of Venice in 1284, prized for its remarkably consistent weight and purity, which made it a dominant trade coin across medieval and Renaissance Europe.
European
Vermont Copper
Copper coinage struck under authority of the independent Vermont Republic in the 1780s, featuring an early landscape design and later a Britannia-style type.
United States
Valens Siliqua
A thin silver siliqua of Valens, eastern Roman emperor who died at the disastrous Battle of Adrianople against the Goths in 378 AD.
Ancient
Edward VII Large Cent
Canada's large bronze cent struck 1902-1910 under King Edward VII, continuing the pre-1920 large cent format.
Canadian
Valentinian I Solidus
A high-purity gold solidus of Valentinian I, founder of the Valentinianic dynasty, reflecting the stable gold standard established under Constantine.
Ancient
Prussian Vereinsthaler
A standardized silver thaler struck by the Kingdom of Prussia under the 1857 Vienna Monetary Treaty, unifying weight and fineness across many German and Austrian states before German unification.
European
Republican Victoriatus
A lighter-weight Roman Republican silver coin depicting Jupiter and a Victory crowning a trophy, used largely for trade with the Greek-influenced south.
Ancient