Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Sun Yat-sen 'Memento' 1 Dollar (1927)
Silver dollar bearing the portrait of Sun Yat-sen, struck to commemorate the founding of the Republic of China and widely circulated under the Nationalist government.
Asian
Aureus of Augustus
The gold coin of Rome's first emperor, Augustus, who standardized the aureus at roughly 1/40 of a Roman pound and set the gold standard for the empire.
Ancient
Dutch Ducat
A small, nearly pure gold coin showing an armored knight, minted for centuries by the Dutch provinces and later the Kingdom of the Netherlands as a trusted international trade coin.
European
Korean Sangpyeong Tongbo Cash
The standard cash coin of Joseon-dynasty Korea, cast for over two centuries with a huge range of mint and workshop marks on the reverse.
Asian
Flowing Hair Half Dollar
The first U.S. half dollar, struck only in 1794 and 1795, showing Liberty with flowing hair and a small, spread-winged eagle on the reverse.
United States
Franklin Half Dollar
A 90% silver half dollar (1948-1963) depicting Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse, designed by John R. Sinnock.
United States
Gela Man-Headed Bull Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the Sicilian city of Gela, featuring a racing quadriga on the obverse and the man-headed bull river god Gelas on the reverse.
Ancient
Liberty Cap Half Cent
The first design used on the U.S. half cent, struck from 1793 to 1797, showing Liberty wearing a soft cap on the obverse and a wreath on the reverse.
United States
Byzantine Gold Tremissis
A small gold fractional coin worth one-third of a solidus, widely struck across the early Byzantine world and imitated by Germanic successor kingdoms in the former Western Roman Empire.
Ancient
Chile Peso (Condor)
Chilean coinage featuring the Andean condor perched or in flight, first seen on 19th-century gold pesos and later on the everyday circulating peso coin.
Latin American
Japanese Trade Dollar
A short-lived Meiji-era silver coin struck to the same weight and fineness as the Mexican and U.S. Trade Dollars so Japan could compete in East Asian commerce.
Asian
Costa Rica 2 Colones Gold
A small gold denomination from Costa Rica's early colon-era coinage, part of a family of gold coins (2, 5, 10, and 20 colones) struck around the turn of the twentieth century.
Latin American
Chilean Peso Silver 'Condor'
Chile's standard silver peso coin, nicknamed the "condor" for the great Andean bird featured as a supporter on the national coat of arms depicted on the coin.
Latin American
George V Fifty Cents
Canada's fifty-cent silver coin issued under King George V, spanning a reduction in silver fineness in 1920 and including the famously rare 1921 date.
Canadian
Indo-Greek Silver Drachm (Menander)
A silver drachm of Menander I, the most famous Indo-Greek king, known for bilingual Greek and Kharoshthi legends and a portrait bust with helmet.
Ancient
1874-CC Seated Liberty Dime
A rare Carson City dime with arrows at the date, struck in small numbers and highly prized as one of the great condition rarities among CC-mint dimes.
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
1875-CC Twenty-Cent Piece
A Carson City strike of the short-lived US twenty-cent piece, valued both for its unusual denomination and its Wild West mint origin.
United States
Shield Nickel
The first copper-nickel five-cent coin, the Shield Nickel features a national shield on the obverse and was issued from 1866 to 1883, including rare rays and proof-only dates.
United States
1859 Indian Head Cent (Laurel Wreath)
The first-year Indian Head cent, struck only in 1859 with a distinctive laurel wreath reverse that was replaced by an oak wreath and shield the following year.
United States
2004 Wisconsin State Quarter Extra Leaf
A famous modern variety of the 2004 Wisconsin state quarter showing an unexplained extra leaf on the corn cob, found in both 'low leaf' and 'high leaf' forms.
Errors & Varieties
1950-D/S Washington Quarter Overmintmark
A famous mid-century mintmark error where a Denver quarter die was first punched with an S mintmark and then re-punched with a D, leaving traces of both letters visible.
Errors & Varieties
Draped Bust Dollar
The first regular-issue U.S. silver dollar with the Draped Bust design, struck 1795-1804, featuring a small eagle reverse and later a heraldic eagle reverse.
United States
Edward VII Ten Cents
Canada's silver ten-cent coin struck during the brief reign of King Edward VII, bridging the Victorian and Georgian eras of Canadian coinage design.
Canadian