Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1921 Fifty Cents (King of Canadian Coins)
Canada's most famous rarity, the 1921 fifty-cent piece survives in only a small number of known examples after most of its mintage was melted, earning it the nickname King of Canadian Coins.
Canadian
Coat of Arms Fifty Cents (Elizabeth II)
Canada's modern fifty-cent piece, showing the Canadian coat of arms on the reverse since 1959 under successive obverse portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and, later, King Charles III.
Canadian
Kellogg & Co. Gold Piece
Private gold coinage struck by the San Francisco firm Kellogg & Co. during the California Gold Rush, including the famous octagonal fifty-dollar 'slug' of 1855, filling a shortage of circulating coin.
United States
Victoria Fifty Cents (half dollar)
Canada's silver fifty-cent piece struck under Queen Victoria from 1870 to 1901, featuring her portrait and a heraldic shield-and-wreath reverse.
Canadian
British Trade Dollar
A silver trade dollar struck by Britain to compete with the Mexican and Spanish dollars circulating across Hong Kong, China, and Southeast Asia.
Asian
Byzantine Gold Solidus
The gold standard coin of the Byzantine Empire for over 700 years, prized in medieval trade as far away as India and Scandinavia under the nickname "bezant."
Ancient
2008 Hawaii State Quarter
The final release of the 50 State Quarters Program, honoring Hawaii with an image of King Kamehameha I extending his hand over the Hawaiian islands.
United States
South African Silver Krugerrand
The silver version of the world-famous Krugerrand, launched in 2017 to mark the gold coin's 50th anniversary, using the same Kruger and springbok design.
Bullion
1805 Draped Bust Quarter
A far more available date than the famous 1804, the 1805 quarter is a popular representative of the Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle type for collectors building an early American type set.
United States
2004-D Wisconsin State Quarter Extra Leaf
A famous 50 State Quarters error showing an extra corn leaf on the Wisconsin quarter's reverse, found in two forms known as Extra Leaf High and Extra Leaf Low.
Errors & Varieties
2004 Texas State Quarter
A 2004 entry in the 50 State Quarters Program depicting an outline of Texas with a lone star, honoring the state's independent history as the Lone Star State.
United States
Half Crown Gold
A small gold coin worth half a gold crown, struck from the reign of Henry VIII through the English Civil War, distinct from the far more familiar silver half crown that circulated for centuries afterward.
British
1995 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent
A widely collected doubled die variety showing clear doubling on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST on the obverse, notable for being far more available in circulation than earlier famous Lincoln cent doubled dies.
Errors & Varieties
1999 New Jersey State Quarter
One of the original five 1999 State Quarters, honoring New Jersey with a rendition of Washington Crossing the Delaware, launching the wildly popular 50 State Quarters Program.
United States
1999 Delaware State Quarter
The debut coin of the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program, honoring Delaware as the first state to ratify the Constitution, featuring Caesar Rodney's historic ride.
Commemorative
Sybaris Bull Stater
An archaic incuse-fabric silver stater from the legendarily wealthy city of Sybaris, showing a bull looking back over its shoulder, struck before the city's destruction in 510 BC.
Ancient
1999 Pennsylvania State Quarter
The second release in the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program, honoring Pennsylvania with a design featuring the state's outline, a keystone, and the Commonwealth statue.
Commemorative
Ottoman Silver Akce
A tiny silver coin that served as the basic everyday currency unit of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, gradually shrinking in size and silver content as inflation took hold.
World
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