Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Double Sovereign
A British gold coin worth two pounds, twice the value of the standard sovereign, struck intermittently since the nineteenth century for commemorative and bullion purposes.
British
Classic Head Quarter Eagle
Struck from 1834 to 1839 after Congress reduced the gold weight of U.S. coins, this quarter eagle dropped the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM and features a simplified Liberty head.
United States
New Zealand Waitangi Crown (1935)
Rare 1935 New Zealand silver crown depicting the meeting between Governor Hobson and Maori chiefs, one of the most valuable coins in British Commonwealth crown collecting.
Africa & Oceania
Half Guinea
Smaller companion gold coin to the guinea, worth half its value, struck across the same reigns from Charles II through George III for mid-value transactions.
British
British Britannia
The United Kingdom's official gold and silver bullion coin, featuring the classical helmeted figure of Britannia, issued by the Royal Mint since 1987.
Bullion
Australian Lunar Series (Perth Mint)
Modern Australian bullion and collector coin series from the Perth Mint featuring a different Chinese zodiac animal each year, popular worldwide with precious metal collectors.
Bullion
Athenian Owl Tetradrachm
Classical Athenian silver coin depicting Athena and her sacred owl, one of the most recognizable and widely circulated coinages of the ancient Mediterranean world.
Ancient
Crown of the Double Rose
A gold coin introduced by Henry VIII in 1526 as part of his coinage reform, named for the crowned Tudor double rose on its reverse.
British
Swiss 20 Franc Vreneli
Switzerland's classic gold franc coin, depicting a young Swiss woman nicknamed Vreneli on the obverse and the Swiss shield on the reverse, a favorite of gold savers for over a century.
European
Aureus of Augustus
The gold coin of Rome's first emperor, Augustus, who standardized the aureus at roughly 1/40 of a Roman pound and set the gold standard for the empire.
Ancient
Guinea
Historic British gold coin named for the West African region that supplied much of its gold, valued at 21 shillings for most of its history and predecessor to the modern sovereign.
British
Aureus of Nero
The gold coin of Emperor Nero, whose AD 64 monetary reform reduced the aureus's weight standard alongside similar changes to the silver denarius.
Ancient
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle
A $2.50 gold commemorative issued for the 150th anniversary of American independence, showing a standing Liberty with the Declaration of Independence and Independence Hall.
Commemorative
Florentine Florin
Introduced in 1252, the gold florin of Florence became medieval Europe's leading trade coin, its lily emblem and fixed gold standard copied by dozens of other mints.
European
Third Guinea
A small gold coin worth one-third of a guinea, or seven shillings, struck under George III in the years leading up to the introduction of the modern sovereign.
British
Classic Head Half Eagle ($5)
A short-lived early American gold five-dollar coin created after the Coinage Act of 1834 reduced gold coin weight to keep coins in circulation rather than being melted.
United States
Italian 100 Lire Gold
The largest gold denomination of the Kingdom of Italy's Latin Monetary Union coinage, struck under Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I in relatively limited numbers.
European
Mexican Libertad
Mexico's flagship bullion coin, featuring the Angel of Independence on the obverse and the national coat of arms on the reverse, prized for its classic design and high purity.
Bullion
Quarter Guinea
A rarely issued small gold coin worth one-quarter of a guinea, struck only in 1718 under George I and again briefly in 1762 under George III.
British
German Saxony Ducat
A high-purity gold trade coin struck for centuries by the rulers of Saxony, one of the most important German states before national unification.
European
Chile Peso (Condor)
Chilean coinage featuring the Andean condor perched or in flight, first seen on 19th-century gold pesos and later on the everyday circulating peso coin.
Latin American
Liberty Head Eagle ($10)
A long-running 19th-century gold coin featuring Christian Gobrecht's Coronet Head design, minted at numerous branch mints across the expanding United States.
United States
Japanese Koban
A hand-hammered oval gold coin used in feudal Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate, valued at one ryo and stamped with ink calligraphy certifying its weight and fineness.
Asian
2012 London Olympics 50p Series
The Royal Mint issued 29 different circulating 50 pence coins in 2011, each honoring a different sport of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, sparking a nationwide coin-collecting craze in Britain.
Commemorative