Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1794 Flowing Hair Half Dime
One of the very first silver coins struck for circulation by the United States Mint, bearing the Flowing Hair Liberty design and a small eagle reverse.
United States
1946-S/D Jefferson Nickel Repunched Mintmark
A hand-punched mintmark variety on the 1946 Jefferson nickel showing remnants of a D beneath the final S, created when a die intended for one mint was repunched with another mintmark.
Errors & Varieties
Ides of March Denarius (EID MAR)
A denarius struck by Brutus in 42 BC commemorating Julius Caesar's assassination, showing daggers and a liberty cap — one of the most famous and valuable ancient coins ever made.
Ancient
1823/2 Capped Bust Quarter Overdate
One of the rarest die varieties in the entire United States quarter series, the 1823/2 overdate shows a 3 punched over a leftover 2, from an extremely limited production run.
Errors & Varieties
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
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
Japanese Nishu-kin (gold coin)
Small rectangular gold coin from Tokugawa Japan valued at two shu, or one-eighth of a ryo, part of a fractional gold denomination system unique to Edo-period currency.
Asian
1975 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime
One of the rarest and most valuable modern US coin errors: a 1975 proof dime struck without its San Francisco 'S' mintmark, with only a handful of examples known.
Errors & Varieties
1787 Brasher Doubloon
An extraordinarily rare private gold coin struck by New York goldsmith Ephraim Brasher in 1787, now one of the most valuable and famous coins in American numismatics.
United States
1939-S Jefferson Nickel
A scarce San Francisco Jefferson Nickel from the early series, notable for being one of two tougher 1939 issues and for a well-known doubled-die reverse variety showing a doubled MONTICELLO.
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 Crown
A long-lived British coin worth one-eighth of a pound, struck from the Tudor era until decimalisation in 1970, valued today mainly for its portraits and design variety.
British
Quarter Farthing
The smallest fractional denomination in British coinage, worth one-sixteenth of a penny, struck primarily for use in colonial Ceylon during Victoria's reign.
British
Australian Holey Dollar and Dump
In 1813, colonial authorities in New South Wales punched the centers out of Spanish silver dollars to create two coins from one, easing a severe coin shortage while preventing the silver from leaving the colony.
Africa & Oceania
Chinese Wu Zhu Cash
One of history's longest-running coin types, cast continuously for over seven centuries across multiple Chinese dynasties after its introduction under Emperor Wu of Han.
Ancient
Third Farthing
An extremely small denomination worth one-twelfth of a penny, struck mainly to serve the currency needs of the British colony of Malta across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
British
Saxony Thaler
Saxony was one of the earliest and most prolific issuers of thalers, with the electorate and later kingdom producing large silver coins from the 16th century until German unification.
European
English Crown
A large English silver coin worth five shillings, first struck under Henry VIII, that became one of Britain's most artistically celebrated denominations before decimalization.
British
Syracuse Decadrachm
A large, exquisitely engraved silver coin from the Greek city of Syracuse, celebrated as one of the finest achievements of ancient Greek numismatic art, featuring the nymph Arethusa and a victorious chariot.
Ancient
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
Spanish 4 Reales
A mid-value denomination of Spain's traditional real-based coinage, struck for centuries in both Spain and its American colonies.
European
Ottoman Para
A small fractional Ottoman coin, historically 1/40 of a kurus, struck for centuries in varying metals as the empire's lowest everyday denomination.
World
Standing Liberty Quarter
An early 20th-century silver quarter featuring a striding figure of Liberty, prized for its artistic Type I 'bare breast' design and later modified Type II version.
United States
Half Groat
A small hammered silver coin worth half the value of the groat, or two pence, struck across three centuries of English coinage from the reign of Edward III through the Stuart era.
British