Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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 StatesTurban 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 EagleMedal 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.
CommemorativesGuangxu 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.
CirculationPanama-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 Commemorative8 Escudos (Carolus)
The largest Spanish gold coin of the age, the 8 Escudos or doubloon, struck under the Habsburg Carolus rulers with the crowned quartered royal arms.
Early ModernBritish Bank Token
Copper token of the late George III period bearing the king's left-facing bust and a quartered royal-arms reverse, dated 1819.
British IslesGroat of Henry VIII
A hand-struck Tudor silver groat (fourpence) of Henry VIII, showing the quartered royal arms within a circle and a long cross reverse.
Hammered1 Bu Gin
A small rectangular Japanese silver coin, the ichibu gin, worth one bu (a quarter ryo), bearing beaded borders, paulownia crests and Ginza inscriptions.
HistoricShilling of Edward VI
A hammered Tudor silver shilling of Edward VI, showing the young king's crowned profile and a reverse cross over the quartered royal-arms shield.
WorldEnglish Sixpence
A hammered silver sixpence of James I, showing his crowned profile bust and a quartered royal shield with a long cross on the reverse.
HammeredBraunschweig-Lüneburg Thaler
A large silver thaler of the German duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, with a many-quartered coat of arms on the obverse and a standing armored figure on the reverse.
German StatesBroad
A gold twenty-shilling coin of the Protectorate bearing Oliver Cromwell's Roman-style profile and a crowned quartered shield, dated 1656.
HammeredShilling of George III
A milled silver shilling of George III from the Great Recoinage, with his laureate bust facing right and a crowned quartered royal shield within the Garter.
MilledCharles I Unite
A large hammered gold coin of Charles I worth twenty shillings, showing his crowned profile and a crowned quartered shield of lions and fleur-de-lis.
HammeredPhilip and Mary Shilling
Hammered silver shilling of Philip II of Spain and Mary I (1554-1558), showing their paired royal busts and a crowned quartered shield of arms.
HammeredShilling of James I
Hammered silver shilling of King James I, showing his crowned left-facing bust and a quartered heraldic shield of England, Scotland, Ireland and France.
World CoinsShilling of Charles I
A hammered silver English shilling of King Charles I, showing his crowned left-facing profile with the value mark XII and a quartered royal shield.
World CoinsBarbados 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.
CirculationEritrea 1 Tallero
A large silver trade dollar struck for Italian Eritrea under King Umberto I, carrying crowned heraldic arms and a Savoy eagle, dated 1891.
WorldCapped Head Half Eagle
A U.S. five-dollar gold coin struck 1813–1834, showing a left-facing capped Liberty with stars and a heraldic eagle bearing a shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United StatesJoachimsthaler (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 ModernEdward III Groat
Hammered silver fourpence of King Edward III, showing a crowned bust of the king and a long cross with pellets in the quarters.
Medieval CoinsMarinid Gold Dinar
Aniconic Islamic gold dinar of the Marinid dynasty of Morocco, its faces filled with Arabic religious inscriptions framed by geometric border bands.
Medieval Islamic