Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Fifty Pence
The UK's distinctive seven-sided 50p coin, introduced in 1969 to replace the ten shilling note ahead of decimalisation.
British
Twenty Pence
A seven-sided UK coin introduced in 1982 to fill a gap between the ten pence and fifty pence denominations.
British
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
Victoria Fifty Cents (half dollar)
Canada's silver fifty-cent piece struck under Queen Victoria from 1870 to 1901, featuring her portrait and a heraldic shield-and-wreath reverse.
Canadian
1921 Fifty Cents (King of Canadian Coins)
Canada's most famous rarity, the 1921 fifty-cent piece survives in only a small number of known examples after most of its mintage was melted, earning it the nickname King of Canadian Coins.
Canadian
Coat of Arms Fifty Cents (Elizabeth II)
Canada's modern fifty-cent piece, showing the Canadian coat of arms on the reverse since 1959 under successive obverse portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and, later, King Charles III.
Canadian
Julius Caesar Portrait Denarius
A landmark Roman coin struck in 44 BC bearing the portrait of Julius Caesar during his lifetime, the first time a living Roman had appeared on state coinage.
Ancient
Spanish 8 Reales Portrait Dollar
The globally trusted "Spanish dollar" bearing a king's portrait, minted across Spain's vast colonial empire and so widely circulated it directly inspired the U.S. dollar sign and denomination.
European
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
Peace Silver Dollar
Silver dollar issued to commemorate peace after World War I, succeeding the Morgan dollar in 1921 with a striking Art Deco Liberty portrait and eagle-on-rock reverse.
United States
US Peace Dollar
Silver dollar issued starting in 1921 to commemorate peace after World War I, featuring a radiant Liberty head and an eagle resting on a mountain with an olive branch.
United States
1934 Peace Dollar
A Depression-era Peace Dollar issue struck at three mints, with the low-mintage 1934-S standing out as a semi-key date prized by collectors.
United States
Australian 50 Cent (round 1966 silver)
Australia's original round 50-cent coin from the 1966 decimal changeover, struck in 80% silver and withdrawn the same year once its bullion value exceeded face value.
Africa & Oceania
1921 Peace Dollar (High Relief)
The debut issue of the Peace dollar, struck in dramatic high relief that proved difficult to mint, commemorating peace after World War I.
United States
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
2012 London Olympics 50p Series
The Royal Mint issued 29 different circulating 50 pence coins in 2011, each honoring a different sport of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, sparking a nationwide coin-collecting craze in Britain.
Commemorative
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
Philippine 50 Centavos (Commonwealth, 1936)
A special 1936 silver 50-centavo coin marking the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, issued in two paired-portrait varieties honoring Quezon alongside Murphy or Roosevelt.
Asian
Brazilian 2000 Reis Silver
The largest common silver coin of the Brazilian Empire, bearing the portrait of Emperor Pedro II across several design types spanning his long reign.
Latin American
German Empire 5 Mark
A large silver crown of Imperial Germany bearing the portrait or arms of individual constituent states, unified under a common eagle reverse after German unification in 1871.
European
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
Yuan Shikai 'Fatman' Dollar (1914)
A widely produced Republic of China silver dollar bearing the portrait of President Yuan Shikai, nicknamed the fat man dollar for his portly likeness, one of the most common historic Chinese silver coins.
Asian
Shilling
One of Britain's oldest circulating silver denominations, nicknamed the 'bob,' equal to twelve pence and struck for over four centuries before decimalisation.
British
Mexican Estados Unidos 1 Peso 'Morelos'
A mid-twentieth-century Mexican silver peso portraying independence hero José María Morelos, struck in fifty-percent silver for just a few years after World War II.
Latin American