Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
20 Lire
Silver-colored Italian 20 Lire piece of the Fascist era, showing a Mussolini profile and a horse-drawn chariot, dated 1936.
Modern
Barber Quarter
U.S. twenty-five-cent silver coin struck 1892–1916, with a left-facing Liberty head and a heraldic shield-eagle reverse.
Quarter
50 Sen (Dragon Type)
A Meiji-era Japanese silver 50 sen: a coiled dragon on one face, a sunburst-and-wreath value design on the other, dated Meiji 4 (1871).
Circulation
Swiss Shooting Thaler
A silver Swiss 5-franc shooting thaler dated 1934, struck for a federal shooting festival, with a standing female Helvetia figure and a heraldic shield.
Commemorative
Una and the Lion Five Pounds
William Wyon's 1839 gold Five Pounds pairs a young Queen Victoria with Una guiding a lion — widely praised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
British Isles
500 Yen Bicolor Clad
Japan's large two-tone 500 yen circulation coin, with a floral blossom design and pearl-like beading on one face and bold value numerals on the other.
Circulation
Charles II Five Guineas
The largest English gold coin of Charles II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a cruciform arrangement of crowned shields on the reverse.
Milled
Seated Liberty Quarter
U.S. twenty-five-cent silver coin struck 1838–1891, showing Liberty seated with shield and staff on the obverse and a shield-breasted eagle on the reverse.
Quarter
Five Guineas of Anne
Queen Anne's largest gold coin, the celebrated 1703 issue struck with VIGO below the bust from gold captured at the Battle of Vigo Bay.
Milled
Barber Dime
U.S. ten-cent silver coin struck 1892–1916, showing a right-facing Liberty head and a wreath enclosing "ONE DIME" on the reverse.
Dime
Roosevelt Dime
The circulating U.S. ten-cent coin honoring Franklin D. Roosevelt, shown here as a 1965 copper-nickel clad issue with a torch, olive, and oak reverse.
Dime
Draped Bust Quarter
The first United States quarter dollar, struck in silver with a draped Liberty and border stars on the obverse and an eagle reverse; the type began in 1796.
Quarter
Turban Head Half Eagle
First U.S. gold $5 coin, 1795: Liberty in a soft cap facing right, with a heraldic shield-breasted eagle reverse struck in 22-karat gold.
Half Eagle
Venetian Grosso (Matapan)
High-purity silver Grosso of medieval Venice: the Doge kneeling before St. Mark on the obverse, an enthroned Christ on the reverse.
Medieval
2 Centavos
A copper Mexican 2 centavos with a large numeral 2 framed by a laurel wreath on one side and the national eagle with spread wings on the other.
Circulation
Medal of Honor Commemorative Half Eagle
US 2011 gold $5 commemorative honoring the Medal of Honor, showing the Army version of the medal above a Corinthian column.
Commemoratives
Westward Journey Nickel - Lewis and Clark Keelboat
A 2004 Jefferson five-cent piece from the Westward Journey series, its reverse showing the keelboat that carried the Lewis and Clark expedition upriver.
Nickel
Bonn Notgeld 50 Pfennig
A German emergency-money (Notgeld) 50 Pfennig of the city of Bonn, dated 1920, with the civic arms on the obverse and a Beethoven profile on the reverse.
Token/notgeld
Guangxu Yuanbao 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens
A small silver dragon coin of Qing China from the Guangxu era, its face reading 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens and its back showing a coiled Chinese dragon.
Circulation
Venezuelan Silver Coin (1879)
An 1879 Venezuelan silver coin: the left-facing head of Simón Bolívar on one side and the national coat of arms in a wreath on the other.
Circulation
Tanzania 500 Shillings
A modern base-metal circulating coin of Tanzania carrying a right-facing portrait long associated with the nation's founding president and a Kiswahili legend.
World
Seated Liberty Dime
A U.S. silver ten-cent coin showing Liberty seated with a pole and shield; the early No Stars type has a plain obverse and a laurel-wreath ONE DIME reverse.
Dime
Draped Bust Dime
The first United States dime, struck in silver 1796–1807, with a draped Liberty and border stars on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse.
United States