Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
French Indochina Piastre
A 1928 silver piastre of French Indochina, its obverse showing seated Liberty with torch and laurel, its reverse reading UNION INDOCHINE FRANÇAISE in a floral wreath.
Southeast Asia
Bald Eagle Commemorative Half Eagle
A 2008 U.S. commemorative gold $5 half eagle honoring the recovery of the American bald eagle, featuring an eagle design and a heraldic Great Seal eagle.
Commemoratives
Counterstamped 8 Reales
A Charles IV silver 8 reales later punched with counterstamps and pierced with a central hole, layering a second life onto the classic Spanish dollar.
Colonial
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin
Capped Bust Half Eagle
Early U.S. five-dollar gold coin with a left-facing capped Liberty and a shield-breasted eagle marked "5 D."; the 1822 shown is a legendary rarity.
United States
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
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
Guangxu Yuanbao 50 Cents
A Qing-dynasty silver half-dollar bearing the legend Guangxu Yuanbao and a coiled dragon, struck by Chinese provincial mints during the Guangxu Emperor's reign.
Circulation
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
Kenya 40 Shillings
A bimetallic Kenyan commemorative coin denominated 40 shillings, pairing a presidential portrait with the national coat of arms.
World
Australian Sixpence
Small silver sixpence of the Commonwealth of Australia; this 1935 piece carries the crowned bust of King George V.
Australian
South Africa 5 Shillings
A large 1952 South African silver crown marking Cape Town's 300th anniversary, with King George VI and a sailing-ship reverse.
Circulation
Australian Halfpenny
Small bronze pre-decimal Australian half penny; the George VI kangaroo type shown here was struck through the early 1950s.
Australian
New Zealand Threepence
New Zealand's small silver threepence; this 1933 example carries the crowned bust of King George V with GEORGIVS V and his royal titles.
New Zealand
Victorian Crown
Large Victorian silver crown showing Queen Victoria's veiled "Old Head" portrait and Pistrucci's Saint George slaying the dragon, dated 1893.
World Coins
British West Africa 2 Shillings
A colonial copper-nickel two-shilling piece of British West Africa, showing King George VI and a palm-tree reverse.
World
Newfoundland Five Cents
Tiny sterling-silver 5-cent piece of the Dominion of Newfoundland; the 1929 issue bears King George V and a crowned denomination reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
New Zealand Penny
New Zealand's large bronze pre-decimal penny, with George VI on the obverse and a tui bird perched among fern fronds on the reverse.
New Zealand
Guinea Counter (Imitation)
A brass or bronze gaming counter made to imitate a George III guinea, showing a faint male profile and a shield reverse; a token, not money.
Token
New Zealand Waitangi Crown
New Zealand's first and rarest crown, a 1935 silver five-shilling piece with a crowned George V obverse and the Treaty of Waitangi handshake reverse.
New Zealand
British Brass Threepence
Chunky twelve-sided nickel-brass threepence of George VI, showing his head and a thrift plant reverse; the example shown is dated 1942.
British Isles
Spade Guinea Token
A base-metal imitation of the George III spade guinea, made as a gaming counter or advertising token, with a male profile obverse and a spade-shaped shield reverse.
Token
Barbados 1 Cent
A modern copper-colored Barbados one cent: the national coat of arms on the obverse and the value on the reverse, the smallest coin of the Barbadian dollar.
Circulation
Isabella Quarter
The 1893 Isabella Quarter is the only U.S. commemorative quarter dollar, made for the Columbian Exposition's Board of Lady Managers.
Classic Commemorative