Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1802 Draped Bust Half Dime
One of the great rarities of early U.S. coinage, with an extremely small original mintage and only a handful of genuine survivors known today.
United States
Austrian Gold Ducat
A traditional high-purity Austrian gold trade coin with centuries of history, still struck today by the Austrian Mint as an official restrike permanently dated 1915.
European
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
Maximian Follis
Large bronze follis of Maximian, co-Augustus with Diocletian who ruled the western half of the empire as part of the Tetrarchy and shared the same reformed coinage design.
Ancient
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
Indian Head Cent
A long-running 19th-century one-cent coin depicting Liberty in a Native American-style feathered headdress, popular with collectors for its accessible half-century run.
United States
New Zealand Florin (pre-decimal)
New Zealand's pre-decimal florin, famous for its kiwi-bird reverse design, circulated from 1933 until decimalization replaced it with the 20-cent coin in 1967.
Africa & Oceania
Mexican Silver Libertad
Mexico's widely collected silver bullion coin, sharing the Angel of Independence design with the Gold Libertad and issued in a range of weights since 1982.
Bullion
Mexican Gold Libertad
Mexico's premier gold bullion coin, featuring the iconic Angel of Independence, produced without a fixed monetary denomination since 1981.
Bullion
1892 Barber Half Dollar
First-year issue of Charles Barber's Liberty Head half dollar, with the 1892-O and 1892-S branch mint coins notably scarcer than the Philadelphia strike.
United States
1893-S Morgan Dollar
The undisputed key date of the Morgan dollar series, struck at San Francisco with the lowest mintage of any regular-issue Morgan, roughly 100,000 coins.
United States
1877 Shield Nickel (Proof Only)
A major Shield Nickel rarity struck exclusively as proof coinage for collectors, with no business strikes produced for circulation that year.
United States
Commodus Denarius
Silver denarius of Commodus, the erratic son of Marcus Aurelius, whose later coinage famously depicted him as Hercules with lion skin and club.
Ancient
Selinus (Selinunte) River God Tetradrachm
Silver coinage of the Sicilian city of Selinus, notable for depicting the local river god sacrificing at an altar, along with the celery leaf that puns on the city's name.
Ancient
1885 Trade Dollar
One of the rarest official United States coins, a proof-only issue struck years after the Trade dollar series had officially ended, with only a handful of examples known.
United States
Persian Sassanid Silver Drachm
The standard silver coin of the Sasanian Persian Empire, showing an elaborately crowned royal bust and a Zoroastrian fire altar with attendants, struck for over four centuries.
Ancient
Chinese Szechuan Rupee (Tibet-related)
Silver rupee struck by China's Szechuan provincial mint to compete with British Indian rupees circulating in Tibet, blending a Chinese ruler's portrait with an Indian-style coin format.
Asian
Roman Republic Denarius
The workhorse silver coin of the Roman Republic, introduced during the Second Punic War and struck by a long line of moneyers with ever-changing, often political, designs.
Ancient
Philip the Arab Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Philip the Arab, notable for celebrating Rome's 1,000th anniversary in 248 AD with a memorable series of animal-themed 'Saecular Games' reverse types.
Ancient
1880 Shield Nickel
A major key date of the Shield Nickel series with an extremely low business-strike mintage, making genuine circulated examples much scarcer than the coin's proofs.
United States
Persian Kran (Qajar silver)
The standard silver coin of Qajar Persia, worth one-tenth of a gold toman, widely struck under Naser al-Din Shah and later rulers and commonly seen with the lion-and-sun emblem.
Asian
Somali Elephant Gold
The gold version of Somalia's popular African Wildlife elephant coin series, produced by the Bavarian State Mint with a design refreshed nearly every year.
Bullion
Chinese Ban Liang Cash
China's first standardized round coin with a square center hole, introduced under Qin Shi Huang to unify currency across the newly consolidated Chinese empire.
Ancient
1878 Shield Nickel (Proof Only)
Another proof-only rarity in the Shield Nickel series, struck exclusively for collectors with no business-strike coinage issued for circulation that year.
United States