Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Lincoln Shield Cent
The current U.S. one-cent coin, struck since 2010, pairing Lincoln's profile with a Union Shield reverse on a copper-plated zinc planchet.
Small Cent
Liberty Cap Half Cent
The first U.S. half cent, struck only in 1793, showing Liberty in a cap facing left with a wreath reverse. A famous one-year copper key date.
Half Cent
Braunschweig-Lüneburg 3 Thaler
A large silver 3 Thaler of Braunschweig-Lüneburg dated 1685, its obverse showing an allegorical Libertas figure in classical dress against a landscape.
German States
Seated Liberty Dime with Arrows
A silver Seated Liberty dime with small arrows flanking the date, marking the 1853 weight reduction; struck 1853–1855, with the pictured coin dated 1853.
Dime
Sierra Leone 20 Cents
A 1964 Sierra Leone 20 cents from the country's first decimal coinage, showing a portrait profile on one side and the national coat of arms with its lion on the other.
World
Silver Dirham (LACMA M.2002.1.437)
A thin, broad 8th-century Islamic silver dirham covered in Kufic Arabic inscriptions, with no portrait or image — only religious legends and decorative flourishes.
Islamic (Medieval)
Louis d'Or Coin Weight
A French bronze monetary weight (poids monétaire) made to check the weight of a gold Louis d'Or, not a coin itself but a money-changer's balance weight.
Coin Weight
Lincoln Memorial Cent
U.S. one-cent piece struck 1959–2008 with Lincoln's profile and a Memorial reverse; 1982 is the split year between bronze and copper-plated zinc.
Small Cent
Classic Head Large Cent
A pure-copper U.S. large cent struck 1808–1814, showing John Reich's classical left-facing Liberty ringed by stars over a wreath reverse.
Large Cent
Halve Rijksdaalder van Leicester
Silver half rijksdaalder of the Leicester type, struck in the rebelling Dutch provinces, showing an armored bust and a split provincial shield.
Early Modern
Lewis and Clark Exposition Dollar
A small U.S. gold dollar for the 1905 Portland exposition — unusual for carrying an explorer portrait on each side, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
Classic Commemorative
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
Seated Liberty Half Dime
A tiny 90% silver five-cent piece showing Liberty seated with a shield and Liberty pole; the reverse wreath frames HALF DIME. First struck 1837.
Half Dime
Unidentified Silver Coin (Louis XV era)
An 18th-century French royal silver coin of the Louis XV era, showing a right-facing bust and a crowned fleur-de-lis shield; the exact denomination is not confirmed.
Royal
Contemporary Forgery of Louis XVI Ecu
A period-style counterfeit imitating a Louis XVI silver ecu: a copied royal portrait obverse and a copied standing-figure reverse dated about 1792.
Forgery
James Lewis and Company Civil War Token
A privately struck Civil War store card advertising Jas. Lewis & Co. of La Porte, Indiana, with a classical head obverse and a beehive reverse.
Token
Antoninianus of Laelianus
Rare billon antoninianus of the short-lived Gallic usurper Laelianus, showing his radiate-crowned bust and a Roman deity or personified virtue.
Ancient Coins
Canadian Silver Maple Leaf
Canada's flagship 1 oz silver bullion coin, struck in .9999 fine silver by the Royal Canadian Mint with a single sugar-maple leaf design.
Bullion
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)
Liberty Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1840–1907, with a coronet-crowned Liberty head obverse and a shield-breasted eagle reverse marked "2½ D."
Quarter Eagle
Seated Liberty Half Dollar
U.S. 90% silver fifty-cent piece struck 1839–1891, with a seated figure of Liberty by Christian Gobrecht and a heraldic eagle reverse.
Half Dollar
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
A classic U.S. silver half dollar struck 1916–1947, showing Liberty striding toward the sunrise on the obverse and a perched eagle on the reverse.
Half Dollar
Lower Canada Bank Penny Token
Copper 1837 penny token of Lower Canada with a standing habitant and PROVINCE DU BAS CANADA obverse and a crowned heraldic-arms reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent
A pure-copper U.S. one-cent piece from 1816–1839, showing Liberty in a beaded coronet on the obverse and ONE CENT inside a wreath.
Large Cent