Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Guangxu Yuanbao Dollar
A crown-sized silver dragon dollar of Qing China inscribed 光緒元寶 (Guangxu Yuanbao), with a coiled dragon reverse and a provincial mint inscription; this piece dated 1905.
Circulation
Junk Dollar
China's Republic-era silver dollar with Sun Yat-sen facing left and a Chinese junk under sail on the reverse; the pictured coin is Year 23 (1934).
Circulation
British Trade Dollar
British silver trade dollar for Far East commerce, with seated Britannia holding a trident and shield and a Chinese dragon reverse.
Dollar
Holey Dollar
Australia's first struck coin: a Spanish silver dollar with its centre punched out, counterstamped NEW SOUTH WALES 1813 and revalued at five shillings.
Australian
Seated Liberty Dollar
U.S. silver dollar (1840-1873) with Liberty seated holding a shield and a liberty-cap pole, ringed by stars. The pictured coin is dated 1860.
Dollar
Pillar Dollar (Columnario)
Machine-struck Spanish colonial silver 8 reales showing two crowned globes between the Pillars of Hercules; a trusted world trade coin.
World Coins
Hong Kong Trade Dollar
A large silver British Trade Dollar with standing Britannia on the obverse and a Chinese dragon reverse, made for commerce across the Far East.
Circulation
Kennedy Half Dollar
U.S. fifty-cent piece introduced in 1964 to honor President John F. Kennedy; the first-year 1964 coins were struck in 90% silver.
United States
Xuantong Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A late Qing silver dollar-size coin of the Xuantong era (1909-1911), reading 宣統元寶 on the obverse with a Chinese dragon on the reverse.
Circulation
Bank of England Dollar
A George III silver dollar issued by the Bank of England in 1804, struck over Spanish eight-reales coins, with a laureate bust and a crowned shield reverse.
Milled
Capped Bust Half Dollar
U.S. fifty-cent silver coin struck 1807–1839, showing Liberty in a Phrygian cap surrounded by stars and a heraldic eagle on a shield.
Half Dollar
Olympic Hockey Commemorative Dollar
Silver-colored commemorative dollar for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, showing an ice hockey player, maple leaves, and the Olympic rings.
Canadian & Provincial
Draped Bust Half Dollar
Early U.S. silver fifty-cent piece of 1796–1807. The pictured 1796 Small Eagle with 15 stars is among the rarest of all American coins.
Half Dollar
George IV One Eighth Spanish Dollar
Small 1822 British colonial silver coin from the George IV "Anchor Money," a fraction of the Spanish dollar used in the West Indies and Mauritius.
Colonial
George IV One Quarter Spanish Dollar
An 1822 British colonial silver coin valued at one quarter of a Spanish dollar, part of the George IV "Anchor Money" issued for colonies in the Americas.
Colonial
Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar (1946–1951) honoring educator Booker T. Washington, the first African American portrayed on a U.S. coin.
Classic Commemorative
George IV One Sixteenth Spanish Dollar
A small George IV silver coin of the "Anchor Money" series, worth one-sixteenth of a Spanish dollar and marked with an anchor and Roman numeral XVI.
Colonial
Guangxu Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A silver Chinese dragon dollar of the Guangxu era, marked Guangxu Yuanbao and valued at 7 Mace 2 Candareens, with a coiled dragon on one face and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation
Aratame Sanbu Sadame
A round silver-colored coin with a coiled dragon and the inscription Aratame Sanbu Sadame on one face and a radiating sun on the other, dated 1859.
Historic
Bhutan 500 Ngultrum Commemorative
Modern Bhutanese silver commemorative dated 2008, with a portrait of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and an ornate dragon-and-mythical-creature reverse.
Himalayan
Canadian 50 Cents
Canada's mid-century silver 50-cent piece bearing King George VI, struck in 80% silver with the Canadian coat of arms.
World Coins
Guangxu Yuanbao 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens
A small silver dragon coin of Qing China from the Guangxu era, its face reading 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens and its back showing a coiled Chinese dragon.
Circulation
Spanish Colonial 8 Reales (Milled Bust)
The milled-bust Spanish colonial 8 reales—the classic “piece of eight,” a large silver coin bearing the Spanish king's portrait and royal arms.
Colonial
Australian Kookaburra
Perth Mint silver bullion coin with a changing kookaburra reverse and a Queen Elizabeth II obverse; this 2 Dollars piece is a 2 oz .999 fine silver coin dated 2012.
Bullion