Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Argentine 8 Escudos Gold (1813)
An extremely rare gold coin from the earliest years of Argentine independence, struck briefly at Potosí under revolutionary authority and bearing the iconic Sun of May.
Latin American
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
Argentina 8 Reales
Silver 8 reales struck after Argentina's 1810 independence movement, replacing the Spanish king's portrait with the revolutionary Sun of May and clasped hands design.
Latin American
Republican Victoriatus
A lighter-weight Roman Republican silver coin depicting Jupiter and a Victory crowning a trophy, used largely for trade with the Greek-influenced south.
Ancient
Laurel
A gold twenty-shilling coin issued from 1619, named for its laureate royal portrait styled after Roman emperors, replacing the earlier Unite as James I's principal gold denomination.
British
Argentine Argentino Gold (5 Pesos)
Argentina's principal 19th-century gold coin, worth 5 pesos oro and called an "Argentino," struck to Latin Monetary Union weight standards for use in international trade.
Latin American
French 5 Francs "Napoleon"
A large silver crown-sized coin bearing the portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, first as First Consul and later as Emperor, marking France's decimal franc system's early flagship silver denomination.
European
Classic Head Large Cent
A short-lived early copper cent design with Liberty wearing a simple fillet, struck during the years surrounding the War of 1812.
United States
French 5 Francs Hercules
A large silver crown depicting an allegorical Hercules flanked by Liberty and Equality, struck at pivotal republican moments in French history as a statement of civic ideals.
European
Chilean 50 Pesos Gold
A mid-sized Chilean gold coin issued as part of the 1926 gold standard reform, sharing the condor design theme with its larger and smaller companion denominations.
Latin American
Coronet Large Cent
A large copper cent series featuring Liberty wearing a coronet, produced through the "Matron Head" and "Young Head" phases before the Braided Hair design took over.
United States
Liberty Cap Large Cent
An early United States copper cent showing Liberty with a pole and pileus (liberty cap) over her shoulder, the third cent design used in the Mint's first years.
United States
1900 Lafayette Dollar
The first United States commemorative silver dollar, struck in 1900 to help fund a statue of the Marquis de Lafayette presented to France at the Paris Exposition.
Commemorative
Braided Hair Large Cent
The final large cent design, showing Liberty with braided hair, produced until the bulky copper cent was replaced by the small Flying Eagle cent in 1857.
United States
1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent
An early United States large cent from 1795 featuring the Liberty Cap design, struck as America's young Mint worked out production and metal-supply challenges.
United States
German 5 Mark Silver (Kaiserreich)
The 5 Mark was the largest circulating silver coin of the German Empire, issued by numerous constituent states and free cities, each with its own portrait or design under a common imperial system.
European
Aegina Land Tortoise Stater
A silver stater from the island of Aegina bearing a land tortoise, successor to the earlier sea-turtle design and among the earliest widely circulated coinages in the Greek world.
Ancient
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) EIC Rixdollar
A colonial currency unit continued by the British East India Company administration in Ceylon, inherited from earlier Dutch VOC rule and featuring an elephant design.
Asian
Vietnamese Silver Bar (Lang / Thoi Bac)
Traditional Vietnamese ingot currency from the Nguyen Dynasty, cast or hammered silver bars denominated in lang (tael) rather than struck as round coins.
Asian
South African Union Silver Crown (5 Shillings)
Large silver crown of the Union of South Africa, struck periodically from the late 1940s, featuring a springbok reverse and occasional special commemorative designs.
Africa & Oceania
Domitian Denarius
Silver coin of the last Flavian emperor, Domitian, whose lengthy autocratic reign produced abundant, well-struck denarii before his assassination and damnatio memoriae.
Ancient
Commodus Denarius
Silver denarius of Commodus, the erratic son of Marcus Aurelius, whose later coinage famously depicted him as Hercules with lion skin and club.
Ancient
Augustus Denarius
The main silver coin of Rome's first emperor, Augustus, whose long reign established the imperial monetary system that would last for centuries.
Ancient