Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Louisiana Purchase Exposition Dollar (Jefferson)
An 1903 U.S. commemorative gold dollar honoring the Louisiana Purchase, featuring Thomas Jefferson's left-facing profile and struck for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
Classic Commemorative
Old Spanish Trail Half Dollar
A 1935 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 400 years of the Old Spanish Trail, with a longhorn cow's head punning on explorer Cabeza de Vaca.
Classic Commemorative
Napoleon III 20 Francs
French gold 20 francs of Emperor Napoleon III, showing his bare head facing right and a wreathed value on the reverse; example dated 1857.
World Coins
Mercury Dime Centennial Gold
A 2016-W gold collector coin marking the centennial of the 1916 Mercury dime, struck in 1/10 oz of 24-karat gold at West Point.
Dime
Bangladesh 5 Taka
A modern Bangladeshi circulation coin worth five Taka, struck in nickel-plated steel, with the national emblem on the obverse and the value in Bengali on the reverse.
South Asia
Draped Bust Half Cent
An early U.S. copper half cent showing draped Liberty with flowing hair; the smallest denomination the Mint ever struck, made 1800–1808.
Half Cent
Spanish Colonial Half Real
The smallest milled silver coin of Spain's American empire: a tiny 1/2 real with a royal bust and the crowned arms between pillars.
Colonial
Gold Tetradrachm of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II
Ptolemaic gold of Egypt, c. 260-240 BC, with paired busts of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II on one side and Ptolemy I and Berenike I on the other.
Ancient
Half Escudo (800 Reis) of Joao V
A small Portuguese gold coin of King Joao V, valued at half an escudo (800 reis), with his laureate bust and a crowned Portuguese shield.
Colonial
Jamaica Half Penny
An 1871 colonial Jamaica halfpenny in copper-nickel: young Queen Victoria facing left on the obverse, the crowned Jamaican shield of arms on the reverse.
Colonial
Braided Hair Half Cent
The final U.S. half cent design, a small copper coin showing Liberty with braided hair and a coronet, paired with a wreath reverse, struck 1840–1857.
Half Cent
King's Silver Jubilee Medal
British 1935 commemorative medal with overlaid profiles of King George V and Queen Mary and a castle reverse marking the Silver Jubilee.
Medals & Tokens
Gold Guinea
English gold coin of the Guinea denomination; the example shown bears the right-facing bust of Charles II with a crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1668.
World Coins
1½ Roubles
A large silver crown of Tsar Nicholas I, dual-valued at 1½ Roubles and 10 Zlotych for Russia and Congress Poland, with an eagle bearing many shields.
Modern
Guangxu Yuanbao Dollar
A crown-sized silver dragon dollar of Qing China inscribed 光緒元寶 (Guangxu Yuanbao), with a coiled dragon reverse and a provincial mint inscription; this piece dated 1905.
Circulation
Wang Mang Spade Money
A cast bronze spade-shaped coin of the Xin Dynasty, issued under the reformer Wang Mang, its flat blade bearing raised Chinese inscriptions.
Ancient
New Zealand Halfpenny
New Zealand's small bronze halfpenny, struck from 1940, with a royal portrait obverse and a Maori hei-tiki reverse. The coin shown is a 1940 George VI issue.
New Zealand
Ancient Greek Didrachm
An ancient Greek silver didrachm worth two drachms, here with a bearded male head and a horse-and-rider reverse in the tradition of Magna Graecia.
Ancient
Medieval Silver Cut Farthing
A quarter of a medieval silver penny, physically cut along the reverse cross to make small change before round farthings became common.
British Isles
Gold Sovereign
The British gold sovereign: a one-pound gold coin. This 1817 George III example shows a laureate bust and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms.
World
20 Kroner
Danish aluminum-bronze 20 Kroner of 1990 honoring Queen Margrethe II, with a crown over a marguerite daisy and the dates 1940 and 1990.
Modern
China 10 Yuan Temple of Heaven
A modern Chinese silver 10 Yuan commemorative bearing the Temple of Heaven's Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, dated 1996.
World
Edward IV Half Groat
Hammered silver half groat (twopence) of Edward IV, with a crowned royal bust and a long-cross reverse, struck at English mints between 1461 and 1483.
Medieval Coins
Israel 10 Lirot
Israel's 1968 silver 10 Lirot, struck for the 20th anniversary of independence, pairing a menorah emblem with a view of Jerusalem.
World