Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
South African Sixpence (Union)
Small silver sixpence of the Union of South Africa, known for its protea flower reverse, circulated from the 1920s through the transition to decimal currency.
Africa & Oceania
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
2 Euro Coin
The highest-denomination circulating euro coin, with a silver-colored center inside a gold-colored ring, widely used by member states to issue popular commemorative designs collected across Europe.
European
1 Euro Coin
The standard circulating one-euro coin used across the Eurozone since 2002, bimetallic with a gold-colored center and silver-colored ring, and a national obverse that varies by issuing country.
European
50 Euro Cent Coin
A gold-colored circulating euro coin worth half a euro, struck in a copper-based Nordic gold alloy and easily recognized by its distinctive scalloped-edge shape and national obverse design.
European
Euro €2 Commemorative Coins
Since 2004, Eurozone countries have issued special-design €2 coins commemorating anniversaries and events while keeping the coin's normal size, weight, and legal-tender status.
Commemorative
Prussian Vereinsthaler
A standardized silver thaler struck by the Kingdom of Prussia under the 1857 Vienna Monetary Treaty, unifying weight and fineness across many German and Austrian states before German unification.
European
Unite
A gold twenty-shilling coin introduced by James I in 1604 to celebrate the union of the English and Scottish crowns, its name literally symbolizing the joining of the two kingdoms.
British
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
Vatican Euro Coins
Official euro coinage of the world's smallest sovereign state, struck in very limited quantities and highly sought after by euro coin collectors worldwide.
European
Chervonets (Soviet Gold)
A Soviet gold coin depicting a peasant sower, originally struck in 1923 to stabilize the new Soviet currency and later restruck for decades as a bullion and trade coin.
European
1980 Moscow Olympics Silver Rouble
The Soviet Union struck an extensive multi-denomination coin program from 1977 to 1980 celebrating the Moscow Summer Olympics, including widely collected silver 1 rouble coins.
Commemorative
Celtic Gold Stater
Iron Age gold coins struck by Celtic tribes across Gaul and Britain, evolving from close imitations of Macedonian staters into strikingly abstract, stylized designs.
Ancient
German 3 Mark Silver
A large silver coin of Imperial Germany, issued by the various constituent states with distinct rulers' portraits and commemorative designs.
European
Rwandan Silver African Wildlife
A modern bullion coin series issued under Rwandan sovereignty depicting various African animals, minted in Germany and produced in different subseries by animal theme.
Africa & Oceania
Long Island Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. commemorative half dollar marking 300 years since the first European settlement on Long Island, New York.
Commemorative
Carolingian Silver Denier (Charlemagne)
Standardized silver penny introduced under Charlemagne's monetary reform, forming the template for medieval European currency for centuries afterward.
European
Indian Gold Mohur
The traditional high-value gold coin of the Indian subcontinent, struck for centuries by Mughal emperors, later by the British East India Company, British India, and various princely states.
Asian
Swiss 5 Francs Silver
The Swiss 5 Francs was Switzerland's largest circulating silver coin for over a century, featuring the standing figure of Helvetia, and remains a favorite among collectors of European silver crowns.
European
Belgian Franc
Belgium's national currency from independence in 1830 through the Latin Monetary Union era and into the Euro age, minted in both French and Dutch legends.
European
Napoleon 20 Franc Gold Coin
A historic French gold coin first struck under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803, later issued under successive French governments and long used as a benchmark gold coin across Europe.
European
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
Spanish 20 Pesetas Gold (Alfonso XII)
Spain's standard gold coin of the Latin Monetary Union era, struck under King Alfonso XII following the restoration of the Spanish monarchy in the 1870s.
European
Lincoln Shield Cent
The current Lincoln cent reverse, introduced in 2010, depicts a Union shield replacing the earlier Lincoln Memorial design as the fourth reverse in the cent's history.
United States