Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
1967 Bobcat Centennial Quarter
A one-year-only Canadian quarter struck for the 1967 Centennial of Confederation, featuring a bobcat on the reverse instead of the usual caribou.
Canadian
1943 'V' Victory Nickel (tombac)
A wartime Canadian five-cent coin struck in golden tombac with a bold V for Victory and a Morse code message around its edge, issued when nickel metal was diverted to the war effort.
Canadian
George V Five Cents (silver)
The last era of Canadian silver five-cent coins, struck under King George V until nickel replaced silver in 1922, including the legendary rarity of the 1921 date.
Canadian
1936 Dot Cent
One of Canada's rarest coins: a 1936-dated cent quietly struck in 1937 with a tiny raised dot below the date after King Edward VIII's abdication delayed new George VI dies.
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
Spanish 2 Reales Pillar
The Pillar 2 Reales was a fractional Spanish colonial silver coin featuring the famous Pillars of Hercules design, struck at mints across Spanish America and widely used in international trade.
Latin American
1796 Draped Bust Quarter
The very first quarter dollar struck by the United States Mint, a one-year type coin with a tiny mintage that is treasured by collectors of early American silver.
United States
Spanish 8 Reales (Piece of Eight)
The legendary 'piece of eight,' Spain's silver dollar-sized coin that became the world's first truly global currency and the direct ancestor of the U.S. dollar.
World
Peru 8 Reales (Lima Mint)
The flagship silver dollar-size coin of colonial and early republican Peru, struck at the historic Lima mint from cob and pillar types through crowned-shield busts.
Latin American
2000-P Sacagawea/Washington Quarter Mule
An extraordinarily rare mint error pairing the golden Sacagawea dollar obverse with a Washington quarter reverse die, one of the most famous modern mule errors in U.S. coinage.
Errors & Varieties
Panama-Pacific $50 Gold (Round)
A massive round commemorative gold piece struck for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, one of the rarest and most valuable U.S. commemorative coins ever issued.
Commemorative
Panama Balboa Silver
Panama's dollar-sized silver crown, named for explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa and pegged 1:1 to the US dollar throughout its history.
Latin American
Cuba Peso 'Star' Silver (ABC Peso)
A silver dollar-sized Cuban peso featuring a prominent five-pointed star, popularly nicknamed the 'ABC Peso' and widely used interchangeably with the US silver dollar in the 1930s.
Latin American
Swedish Riksdaler
Sweden's traditional silver dollar denomination, used for roughly two centuries before being replaced by the krona in the 1870s currency reform.
European
Isabella Quarter
The only U.S. commemorative quarter dollar, struck for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and featuring Queen Isabella I of Spain, sponsor of Columbus's voyage.
Commemorative
German States Thaler
A large silver coin struck by the many independent states of the German-speaking world for over three centuries, and the direct linguistic ancestor of the word 'dollar.'
European
Barber Dime
A late-19th and early-20th century silver dime designed by Charles E. Barber, featuring a classical Liberty head, part of a matching set with the Barber quarter and half dollar.
United States
1849 Double Eagle
A unique pattern coin, the very first double eagle ever struck by the U.S. Mint, made to test the newly authorized twenty-dollar denomination; the sole surviving example is held by the Smithsonian.
United States
Danish Speciedaler
Denmark's large silver 'species dollar,' the principal high-value coin of the Danish monetary system before the krone replaced it in 1873–75.
European
Classic Head Half Eagle ($5)
A short-lived early American gold five-dollar coin created after the Coinage Act of 1834 reduced gold coin weight to keep coins in circulation rather than being melted.
United States
Capped Bust Right Half Eagle
America's first five-dollar gold coin, struck 1795-1807 with Liberty facing right under a soft cap, first paired with a small perched eagle reverse and later a bold heraldic eagle.
United States
Liberty Head Double Eagle
A large gold twenty-dollar coin featuring Liberty's coronet-crowned head, struck for decades amid the California Gold Rush and westward mint expansion.
United States
1804 Draped Bust Eagle
The final date of the original ten-dollar gold eagle series before a 33-year production halt, later followed by a small number of 1834 diplomatic-gift restrikes made using a similarly dated die.
United States
1866 Seated Liberty Quarter (Motto)
The first year the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appeared on the quarter dollar, the low-mintage 1866 Philadelphia issue is a genuine key date of the Seated Liberty series.
United States