Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Capped Bust Quarter
An early U.S. silver quarter dollar showing Liberty in a cloth cap over a shield-breasted eagle, struck at Philadelphia from 1815 to 1838.
Quarter
Joachimsthaler (Thaler)
A large early-16th-century Bohemian silver thaler from Joachimsthal, dated 1525; the coin whose name gave rise to the words 'thaler' and 'dollar'.
Early Modern
Standing Liberty Quarter Centennial Gold
A 2016 U.S. quarter-dollar struck in 1/4 oz of .9999 fine gold, reviving Hermon MacNeil's Standing Liberty design for its 100th anniversary.
Quarter
Triple Unite
The largest English hammered gold coin, struck for Charles I during the Civil War and valued at 60 shillings (three pounds).
Hammered
Three Cent Nickel
A small copper-nickel three-cent coin with a Liberty head obverse and a Roman numeral III inside a wreath; struck at Philadelphia from 1865 to 1889.
Three Cent
Swiss 5 Francs
Large .900 silver Swiss crown of 1888–1916, showing a Helvetia head on one face and the Swiss cross shield within a wreath on the other.
World
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation
Jefferson Nickel
U.S. five-cent piece introduced in 1938, showing Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and his Monticello home on the reverse. 1942–1945 issues are 35% silver.
Nickel Five Cent
British Double Florin
Large Victorian silver four-shilling piece with the Jubilee Head of Queen Victoria and a cross of four crowned shields on the reverse.
World Coins
British Florin
A Victorian silver two-shilling florin with a crowned, veiled Victoria and a heraldic crowned-shields reverse; the pictured coin is dated 1890.
World
Swiss 2 Francs
A silver Swiss 2 Francs dated 1860, with the value and date in a wreath on one side and a seated Helvetia bearing the Swiss cross on the other.
Circulation
British Crown
A large George V silver crown of the 1927–1936 'wreath' type, showing the king's profile and a royal crown framed by an ornamental wreath.
British Isles
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
Medieval Halfgroat of Henry VII
Hammered silver twopence of England's first Tudor king, with a crowned royal portrait and a long-cross reverse over a shield.
British Isles
Five Guineas of George II
The largest English gold coin of George II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms on the reverse.
Milled
Swedish Gold Commemorative
An early-20th-century Swedish gold coin showing a right-facing royal profile with the legend SVERIGES KONUNG and the fatherland motto.
Commemorative
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
Bahawalpur Gold Coin
A gold coin or medallic piece linked to the princely state of Bahawalpur, its obverse bearing a uniformed royal portrait and its reverse an ornate coat of arms.
South Asia
Ancient Hellenistic Tetradrachm
A large Hellenistic silver tetradrachm with a bearded, curly-haired head on the obverse and an eagle standing on a thunderbolt on the reverse.
Ancient
Half Laurel
Hammered English gold ten-shilling piece of James I, named for the king's laureate portrait; the half of the full Laurel denomination.
Hammered
Two Guineas of George II
A large milled gold two-guinea piece of George II, with his left-facing laureate head and a crowned garnished shield of the royal arms; the pictured coin is dated 1738.
Milled
Spanish Colonial Cob 2 Reales
A crude hand-struck silver cob worth a quarter of a piece of eight, showing a cross on one side and the Habsburg Spanish arms on the other.
Cob Coinage
Unattributed Gold Coin
A gold-colored coin of uncertain origin: a portrait with East Asian calligraphy on one face and a radiating sunburst within a decorative border on the other.
Unknown
Spanish Colonial Cob 8 Reales
A hand-struck silver cob 8 reales of Spain's American colonies—the irregular, hammered “piece of eight” bearing the crowned Habsburg arms and Pillars of Hercules.
Cob Coinage