Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1804 Draped Bust Quarter
The key date of the short Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle quarter series, the 1804 issue had a very small original mintage and ranks among the rarest and most valuable early United States quarters in any condition.
United States
1932-D Washington Quarter
The key date of the Washington quarter series, struck in Denver during the depths of the Great Depression with a very low mintage.
United States
1932-S Washington Quarter
One of the two key dates of the Washington quarter series, struck at San Francisco in the design's debut year with a very limited mintage.
United States
1912-S Liberty Head Nickel
The only Liberty Head V Nickel struck at the San Francisco Mint and the lowest-mintage business strike of the entire series, making it a major key date.
United States
1885 Liberty Head V Nickel
The key date of the Liberty Head V Nickel series, struck in one of the lowest mintages of the run and highly sought after to complete a date set.
United States
1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece
One of the great rarities of United States coinage: a Carson City twenty-cent piece of which nearly the entire mintage was melted, leaving only a small number of survivors known.
United States
1964 Kennedy Half Dollar (90% Silver)
The first-year Kennedy half dollar, rushed into production after President Kennedy's assassination, struck only in 1964 with a 90% silver composition before the alloy was reduced.
United States
1943 Copper Lincoln Cent
An extremely rare mint error where a handful of 1943 cents were struck on leftover bronze planchets instead of the wartime steel used that year, making it one of the most famous US coin errors.
Errors & Varieties
Brazil 960 Reis
Brazilian silver coin created by overstriking Spanish colonial 8 reales with new Portuguese royal dies, issued after the Portuguese royal court relocated to Brazil.
Latin American
1871-CC Seated Liberty Dime
One of the first dimes struck at the newly opened Carson City Mint, produced in very limited numbers and highly prized by collectors of CC-mint coinage.
United States
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
1949-S Franklin Half Dollar
A relatively low-mintage San Francisco Franklin half often cited among the tougher dates of the series, especially with a full, sharp strike.
United States
Austrian 100 Corona Gold
A large gold coin of Austria-Hungary bearing Emperor Franz Joseph I, popular today as a bullion and collector piece thanks to its restrike program.
European
Cartwheel Twopence (1797)
An enormous two-ounce copper twopence struck in 1797, the largest coin ever produced for circulation in Britain, made famous for its heavy raised cartwheel-style rim.
British
1827 Capped Bust Quarter
One of the most celebrated rarities in American numismatics, the 1827 quarter exists only as extremely rare proof-like Originals and later Restrikes rather than typical circulation coinage.
United States
1883 No Cents Liberty Head Nickel
The first-year Liberty Head Nickel design that omitted the word CENTS from the reverse, later infamous as the 'Racketeer Nickel' after being gold-plated and passed off as a five-dollar coin.
United States
1895 Morgan Dollar (King of Morgans)
A legendary Morgan Dollar key date struck only in proof format at Philadelphia, nicknamed the 'King of Morgans' for its extreme rarity within the series.
United States
Indian Head Gold Eagle ($10)
A striking early 20th-century $10 gold coin designed under President Theodore Roosevelt's coinage renaissance, featuring an incuse (recessed) design and a Native American-style Liberty portrait.
United States
1851 Silver Three-Cent Piece
The first-year issue of the tiny Type I silver three-cent piece, nicknamed the trime, created to ease a national shortage of small change and postage-stamp coinage.
United States
French Napoleon 20 Francs Gold
France's standard 19th-century gold coin, first struck under Napoleon I and continued under later rulers and the Republic, giving rise to the enduring nickname "Napoleon" for any 20-franc gold coin.
European
1856-S Seated Liberty Quarter
A scarcer San Francisco-minted date in the Seated Liberty quarter series, struck in the mint's early years and prized by collectors, especially in higher grades.
United States
1858 Seated Liberty Quarter
A comparatively plentiful mid-series No Motto Seated Liberty quarter, popular as an affordable entry point for collectors seeking a representative example of the type.
United States
1936 Voyageur Silver Dollar
The first regular-issue (non-commemorative) Canadian silver dollar, continuing the Voyageur canoe design introduced the previous year for George V's Silver Jubilee.
Canadian
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