Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Threepence
A small British coin worth three pence, issued first as a tiny silver piece and later as the distinctive 12-sided brass 'threepenny bit' beloved for its unusual shape.
British
Nerva Denarius
Silver denarius of the elderly senator Nerva, first of Rome's "Five Good Emperors," whose brief reign is best remembered for adopting Trajan as his successor.
Ancient
Austrian Thaler (Joseph II)
A silver thaler bearing the portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, struck in the late 18th century and, like the more famous Maria Theresa thaler, later restruck for use in Levant and African trade.
European
Pine Tree Shilling
Colonial Massachusetts silver shilling struck by John Hull and Robert Sanderson, famous for carrying the fixed date 1652 for roughly three decades of actual production.
United States
Chilean 100 Pesos Gold 'Condor'
Chile's flagship 20th-century gold coin, popularly called the "Condor" for the majestic Andean bird featured on its reverse, historically prized as an internationally recognized gold piece.
Latin American
Spanish Gold Escudo (Doubloon)
The gold denomination of the Spanish Empire, whose larger multiples became famous as "doubloons," struck both in Spain and across its American colonial mints for centuries.
European
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
Lydian Croeseid (Croesus Stater)
One of history's earliest bimetallic coinages, struck under the legendary King Croesus of Lydia, featuring the confronting foreparts of a lion and a bull.
Ancient
Russian Ruble (Imperial)
The principal silver coin of the Russian Empire, struck for over two centuries and bearing the portraits of successive tsars and the imperial double-headed eagle.
European
German Hamburg Ducat
A small, exceptionally high-purity gold trade coin struck for centuries by the free city of Hamburg, prized for its consistent fineness and long production history.
European
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Dollar (Junk Dollar)
A Republic of China silver dollar honoring founding father Sun Yat-sen, nicknamed the junk dollar for its reverse image of a traditional Chinese sailing ship, a widely collected 1930s Chinese coin.
Asian
Dutch Rijksdaalder
A historic Dutch silver trade coin dating to the Dutch Republic, later continued as a denomination of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
European
1858 Victoria Five Cents (silver)
The first Canadian five-cent coin, a tiny sterling silver piece struck for the Province of Canada in 1858 when decimal currency was introduced to replace older colonial money.
Canadian
Parthian Silver Drachm
Long-running silver coin of the Parthian Empire, showing the king's portrait on the obverse and the dynasty's founder as a seated archer on the reverse.
Ancient
Vespasian Judaea Capta Sestertius
A large bronze coin of Emperor Vespasian commemorating Rome's suppression of the Jewish Revolt, showing a mourning captive beneath a palm tree with the legend IVDAEA CAPTA.
Ancient
Syracuse Dekadrachm (Kimon)
A magnificent silver dekadrachm from ancient Syracuse signed by the master engraver Kimon, prized as one of the finest achievements of Greek coin art.
Ancient
Chilean 20 Pesos Gold
The smallest of Chile's regular gold coin denominations, issued both in an earlier 19th-century gold peso series and later as part of the 1926 condor-themed gold reform.
Latin American
Siam Tin Pot Duang / Porcelain Gambling Token
Two related forms of traditional Siamese small change: tin versions of the bent bullet-shaped pot duang currency, and porcelain gambling tokens used informally as local currency in Chinese-run gaming houses.
Asian
Mexican Gold Centenario (50 Pesos)
Mexico's iconic gold coin, first struck in 1921 to mark a century of independence, depicting the Angel of Independence and still produced today as bullion.
Bullion
Netherlands Lion Daalder (Leeuwendaalder)
A large silver trade coin of the Dutch provinces showing a knight and a rampant lion, widely circulated in colonial North America and the Ottoman world as the prototype 'lion dollar.'
European
Japanese Oban
A large, oval, hand-hammered gold plate coin of feudal Japan, used mainly as a gift, reward, or ceremonial item rather than everyday currency, among the largest gold coins ever issued.
Asian
Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle
Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful U.S. coins ever produced, designed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt.
United States
1794 Flowing Hair Cent
An early United States large copper cent from the first years of the Mint, associated with the Flowing Hair Liberty portrait used on the nation's earliest coinage.
United States
Indian Head Eagle ($10)
A striking early 20th-century gold eagle designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens as part of President Theodore Roosevelt's push to beautify American coinage.
United States