Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Alabama Centennial Half Dollar
A 1921 U.S. silver half dollar marking a century of Alabama statehood, with jugate governor busts and a state eagle; issued in plain and scarcer 2×2 varieties.
Classic Commemorative
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
Libya 1 Dinar (Counterfeit)
A brass coin imitating Libyan 1 Dinar coinage, carrying Arabic legends and geometric ornament but identified as a counterfeit or non-official replica.
World
Gambia 20 Dalasis (Mungo Park Commemorative)
A 1994 silver 20 dalasis crown from The Gambia honoring Scottish explorer Mungo Park, shown with a sailing ship on the reverse.
World
Central American Republic 8 Reales
A silver 8 reales of the Central American Republic, showing a rayed sun rising over mountains on one side and a tree on the other, dated 1824.
Circulation
Arkansas Centennial Half Dollar (Robinson)
A 1936 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar pairing a portrait of Senator Joseph T. Robinson with the Arkansas Centennial eagle; a scarce one-year Philadelphia issue.
Classic Commemorative
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
Cincinnati Music Center Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar honoring Cincinnati as a music center, with composer Stephen Foster on the obverse and an allegorical figure with a lyre on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Bridgeport Centennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar for Bridgeport, Connecticut's centennial, with a P.T. Barnum portrait and a bold Art Deco eagle.
Classic Commemorative
Pennsylvania State Quarter
1999 U.S. 25-cent piece, second in the 50 State Quarters series, showing the Commonwealth statue, state outline, and a keystone for Pennsylvania.
Quarter
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
Capped Head Quarter Eagle
A rare early U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1821–1834, showing a left-facing capped Liberty head amid stars and a heraldic eagle with shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
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
Capped Bust Quarter Eagle
A one-year U.S. gold $2.50 piece struck only in 1808, with John Reich's capped Liberty obverse and a heraldic eagle reverse. A classic rarity.
Quarter Eagle
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle
A 1926 U.S. commemorative $2.50 gold coin marking 150 years of American independence, with Liberty holding a torch and scroll and Independence Hall on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
India 10 Rupees Commemorative
Bi-metallic Indian 10-rupee commemorative honoring Maharana Pratap, shown in armor with a sword and Devanagari inscription, dated 2015.
Modern India
Elgin Illinois Centennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking the centennial of Elgin, Illinois, with a bearded pioneer head and a pioneer-family memorial group on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
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
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
Roman Sestertius (Uncertain Emperor)
A large Roman imperial sestertius in bronze or orichalcum, heavily patinated with a bearded emperor's portrait and a reverse too worn to identify.
Ancient
Roman As/Dupondius (Uncertain)
An uncertain Roman bronze As or Dupondius: a double-faced Janus head on one side and a ship (galley/prow) with ROMA below on the other.
Ancient
Vienna Philharmonic (Gold)
Austria's flagship gold bullion coin, struck in 99.99% fine gold by the Austrian Mint and themed around the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
Bullion