Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
French Louis d'Or
The Louis d'Or was the principal gold coin of the French monarchy for over 150 years, named after the kings Louis who issued it, and struck until the eve of the Revolution.
European
Gold Half Sovereign
Smaller companion to the gold sovereign, struck since 1817 at half the weight and value, sharing the same monarch portraits and often the same St George reverse design.
British
Shilling
One of Britain's oldest circulating silver denominations, nicknamed the 'bob,' equal to twelve pence and struck for over four centuries before decimalisation.
British
Two Pound Gold (Double Sovereign)
A gold coin worth two pounds sterling and roughly twice the weight of a sovereign, struck mainly for jubilees, coronations, and modern proof or bullion sets rather than daily circulation.
British
Hungarian Ducat
A remarkably long-lived gold coin of the Kingdom of Hungary, showing St. Ladislaus and the Madonna and Child, prized for centuries as one of Europe's most trusted trade coins.
European
Ostrogothic Silver Quarter Siliqua
Small silver coin struck by the Ostrogothic kings of Italy in the name of the reigning Byzantine emperor, bearing the Gothic king's monogram on the reverse.
European
2011 Gettysburg America the Beautiful Quarter
An America the Beautiful Quarters release honoring Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, site of the pivotal 1863 Civil War battle.
United States
Chalkidian League Apollo Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm issued by the Chalkidian League of northern Greek cities, showing the laureate head of Apollo and a lyre, minted at Olynthus.
Ancient
Portuguese 1000 Reis
A large silver crown of the Kingdom of Portugal, bearing the reigning monarch's portrait and national arms, serving as the country's principal high-value silver coin before the 1910 republic.
European
1950-D/S Washington Quarter Overmintmark
A famous mid-century mintmark error where a Denver quarter die was first punched with an S mintmark and then re-punched with a D, leaving traces of both letters visible.
Errors & Varieties
Prussian Thaler
The Prussian Thaler was the leading silver coin of the powerful Kingdom of Prussia, circulating from the mid-18th century until German unification replaced it with the mark in 1871–1873.
European
2010 Hot Springs America the Beautiful Quarter
The first coin in the America the Beautiful Quarters series, honoring Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas with an image of its historic bathhouse row.
United States
Spanish 2 Reales Pillar
The Pillar 2 Reales was a fractional Spanish colonial silver coin featuring the famous Pillars of Hercules design, struck at mints across Spanish America and widely used in international trade.
Latin American
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
Belgian Franc
Belgium's national currency from independence in 1830 through the Latin Monetary Union era and into the Euro age, minted in both French and Dutch legends.
European
Visigothic Gold Tremissis
Small gold coin of the Visigothic kings of Spain, evolving from crude imitations of Roman/Byzantine coinage into the first distinctly national royal coinage of post-Roman Western Europe.
European
1856-S Seated Liberty Quarter
A scarcer San Francisco-minted date in the Seated Liberty quarter series, struck in the mint's early years and prized by collectors, especially in higher grades.
United States
1861 Confederate Half Dollar
An extraordinarily rare Civil War-era coin struck briefly at the Confederate-controlled New Orleans mint, using a genuine CSA reverse die paired with an existing US half dollar obverse.
United States
Draped Bust Large Cent
An early American copper cent showing a classically draped Liberty, based on a Gilbert Stuart portrait, minted at the dawn of United States coinage.
United States
US State Quarters Series
A landmark US Mint program issuing a new quarter reverse design for each of the 50 states in the order they joined the Union, sparking widespread collecting interest nationwide.
United States
Rwandan Silver African Wildlife
A modern bullion coin series issued under Rwandan sovereignty depicting various African animals, minted in Germany and produced in different subseries by animal theme.
Africa & Oceania
Unite
A gold twenty-shilling coin introduced by James I in 1604 to celebrate the union of the English and Scottish crowns, its name literally symbolizing the joining of the two kingdoms.
British
Nabataean Silver Drachm (Aretas IV)
Silver coin of Aretas IV, the most powerful king of the Nabataean Kingdom centered on Petra, often showing his portrait jugate with Queen Shaquilat.
Ancient
Byzantine Gold Tremissis
A small gold fractional coin worth one-third of a solidus, widely struck across the early Byzantine world and imitated by Germanic successor kingdoms in the former Western Roman Empire.
Ancient