Silver

The most famous coin of the ancient Greek world. Featured Athena on the obverse and her sacred owl o...

The backbone of the Roman economy for 450 years. One denarius equaled one days wage for a laborer or...

The Spanish dollar or eight real coin was the first global currency. Mined from silver in Mexico and...

One of the most successful coins ever minted. Featured the bust of Empress Maria Theresa. After her ...

Designed by George T. Morgan, featuring Lady Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. Min...

Also called the piastre in European languages. Became the standard silver coin of the Ottoman Empire...

Also called yuanbao, meaning original treasure. Boat or shoe shaped silver ingots used for large tra...

The silver coin of ancient Carthage in North Africa. Featured the goddess Tanit on the obverse and a...

Also called the matapan. A large silver coin introduced by Doge Enrico Dandolo. Featured the Doge re...

The main silver and gold coin of France from the 13th century to the Revolution. Louis IX introduced...

The escudo was both a gold and copper coin denomination in Spain and its colonies. The gold escudo w...

The currency of Portugal for over 600 years. Originally a silver coin minted in the 1380s. The real ...

The ancestor of the dollar. Large silver coin minted throughout the German speaking world. The Joach...

Saxony was one of the richest silver mining regions in Europe. The Schreckenberg and Annaberg mints ...

The national currency of Poland since the 16th century. Zloty means golden in Polish. Originally a g...

Named after the city of Florence, where the gold florin originated. The Hungarian forint was one of ...

Also called the krone. Replaced the gulden when Austria-Hungary adopted the gold standard. The crown...

The gulden or florin was used long before it became the modern guilder. Dutch gulden coins from the ...

One of Asias oldest currencies. Originally a unit of weight for silver. The baht was decimalized in ...

The largest silver coin in regular circulation in Switzerland. Features a male Alpine herdsman on on...

The silver bullion coin of China, first issued in 1983. Features a different giant panda design each...

The official silver bullion coin of the United States. Contains one troy ounce of 99.9 percent pure ...

British bullion coins featuring Britannia, the female personification of Britain. The gold Britannia...

A small silver coin worth one sixth of a drachma. The obol was the daily wage of a rower in the Athe...

The first widely traded Greek coin, minted on the island of Aegina. Featured a sea turtle on the obv...

Featured Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology, on the obverse. Corinth was a major commercia...

Considered by many numismatists to be the most beautiful Greek coin ever minted. Featured a chariot ...

The coins of the Greco Bactrian Kingdom in modern Afghanistan and Central Asia. These coins show a r...

The standard silver coin of Sasanian Persia for over 400 years. Featured the kings bust with an elab...

The silver coin of the early Islamic Caliphate. Featured only inscriptions in Arabic, with the name ...

See Corinthian Pegasus entry for full details....

Minted under Henry II through Henry III. Featured a short cross design rather than a long cross exte...

The basic unit of Russian currency for nearly 500 years. Featured a horseman with a spear, giving th...

The silver rupee of the Mughal Empire, first issued by Sher Shah Suri. Standardized at approximately...

The columnarios or pillar dollar, featuring two columns representing the Pillars of Hercules wrapped...

Crude hand-hammered coins produced in Spanish colonial mints from the 16th to 18th centuries. The wo...

See Spanish 8 Reales. The pillar dollar was so widely accepted that it circulated in the American co...

Also called the trime. The smallest US silver coin ever minted, weighing only 0.8 grams. Designed to...

The predecessor to the nickel five cent piece. A small silver coin worth five cents. The Flowing Hai...

One of the shortest lived US coin denominations. Created to facilitate trade in the West where Spani...

Minted specifically for trade with Asia. Contained more silver than the standard silver dollar to co...

Featured Liberty wearing a winged cap, often mistaken for the god Mercury. Designed by Adolph Weinma...

Featured Liberty standing in a gateway, holding a shield and an olive branch. The Type 1 exposed Lib...

Featured George Washington on the obverse. Originally intended as a one year commemorative for the 2...

Created just months after the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963. The design was ba...

Featured Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. Designed by John Sinn...

Considered by many the most beautiful US silver coin. Featured Liberty walking toward the sunrise, d...

Commemorating the peace following World War I. Featured Liberty with a radiate crown and a perched e...

Featured Liberty seated on a rock, holding a staff with a Liberty cap. Designed by Christian Gobrech...

The first silver dollar minted by the United States. Featured Liberty with flowing hair on the obver...

Featured Liberty with a draped bust, designed by Gilbert Stuart. The reverse initially showed a smal...

Designed by Christian Gobrecht as a pattern coin to replace the Spanish dollars still circulating. F...

Also called the tanner. Worth two and a half old pence. Featured the monarch on the obverse and vari...

Worth two shillings or one tenth of a pound. The florin was Britains first step toward decimalisatio...

Worth two shillings and sixpence, or one eighth of a pound. Featured the monarch and the royal arms ...

Worth five shillings or a quarter of a pound. The crown was a large silver coin, originally circulat...

Also called the threepenny bit. Worth three old pence. The silver threepence was minted until 1945. ...

Worth 12 old pence or one twentieth of a pound. The shilling was a staple of British commerce for ce...

Introduced by Caracalla, worth two denarii but containing only 1.5 times the silver. Featured the em...

A small silver coin introduced by Constantine. The siliqua replaced the denarius as the standard sil...

A two drachma silver coin. The didrachm was used for larger transactions. Many Greek colonies in Ita...

The standard large silver coin of the Greek world, worth four drachmai. The Athenian owl tetradrachm...

The basic silver coin of ancient Greece. Originally a handful of iron spits called oboloi. Six obols...

The silver coin of the Seleucid Empire, which ruled from Syria to Afghanistan after Alexanders death...

The coinage of Ptolemaic Egypt after Alexander the Great. Featured the kings portrait on the obverse...

The silver coin of the Parthian Empire, Romes great rival in the East. Featured the king in Parthian...

The primary coin of Anglo-Saxon and medieval England for centuries. Hand-hammered, not machine made....

Worth four pence. Introduced by Edward I in 1279. Featured the king on a throne. The groat was the f...

The first English coin to feature a realistic portrait of the monarch. Introduced by Henry VII. The ...

Coins minted for the Kingdom of Hawaii before annexation. The 1847 large cent featured King Kamehame...

The trade dollar of French Indochina, featuring Liberty seated. The reverse design with denomination...

Minted specifically for trade in the Far East. Featured Britannia standing on a shore with a merchan...

A trade dollar minted for trade with China and Korea. Featured a dragon design. Contained 27.2 grams...

The silver dollar coins of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic. Featured a dragon on the revers...

Featured the portrait of President Yuan Shikai. Became the standard silver dollar of the Republic of...

Featured a Chinese junk boat on the reverse. Introduced in 1933 as the standard silver dollar of the...

The currency of New France, the French colony in North America. French coins circulated alongside Sp...

The leeuwendaalder, a silver coin featuring a lion. First minted for the Dutch Revolt against Spain....

The main silver coin of the Italian states before unification. Featured the ruling pope or duke. The...

The currency of the Order of Malta, the Knights Hospitaller. Featured the Grand Masters coat of arms...

Thin silver wire coins hammered into irregular shapes by hand. Called dengi or kopeks. Each coin was...

A silver coin introduced by Heraclius during the war with Persia. Featured the emperor and his son o...

Designed by Charles E. Barber, the Chief Engraver of the US Mint. Featured Liberty on the obverse an...

Featured Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. The Barber quarter was widely used but ...

The largest of the Barber coinage series. Featured Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the revers...

Featured Liberty seated on a rock. Designed by Christian Gobrecht. The obverse design matched the ot...

Featured Liberty seated on a rock, holding a shield and staff. The reverse showed an eagle. Designed...

The Seated Liberty half dime replaced the earlier Flowing Hair and Capped Bust types. Featured Liber...

Also called the Draped Bust dime. Featured Liberty on the obverse and a small eagle or heraldic eagl...

The Draped Bust quarter featured Liberty on the obverse and a small eagle on the reverse. The 1796 q...

The Draped Bust half dollar of 1794 and 1795 is extremely rare. The 1804 half dollar is one of the m...

During World War II, nickel was needed for armor plating. From late 1942 to 1945, the composition ch...

See Cobs entry. Cob dollars were produced at mints in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Each was ...

The Mexican 8 reales coin after independence from Spain. Featured the Mexican eagle with a snake on ...

The decimal peso coin replacing the real system. The 8 reales coin became the peso. Featured the eag...

The Mexican silver bullion coin, first issued in 1982. Features Winged Victory on the obverse and th...

Minted from 1935 to 1967. The 1935 dollar commemorated the 25th anniversary of King George V reign. ...

The voyageur dollar featured a fur trader and aboriginal paddling a canoe loaded with trade goods. D...

The silver bullion coin of Canada, introduced in 1988. Contains one troy ounce of 99.99 percent pure...

Canadian quarters minted before 1968 contain 80 percent silver. Featured the reigning monarch on the...

Canadian half dollars minted before 1967 contain 80 percent silver. Featured the monarch on the obve...

The silver version of the popular gold Philharmonic bullion coin. Contains one troy ounce of 99.9 pe...

The silver bullion coin of Australia featuring the kookaburra bird. Design changes annually. Contain...

A bullion coin featuring the koala. The platinum koala was introduced in 1987, among the earliest pl...

The silver bullion coin of Britain, first issued in 1997. Contains one troy ounce of 99.9 percent pu...

The silver coin of the Crusader kingdoms, modeled on the French denier. Featured a cross and the nam...

The coins of the Knights Hospitaller on Malta. Featured the cross of the Order and the Grand Masters...

The silver coin of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Featured the king as a half kneeling archer, simil...

The coins of King Croesus of Lydia, who introduced pure gold and silver coins replacing electrum. Th...

A generic term for the standard coin of a Greek city-state. The stater could be gold, silver, or ele...

The coinage of Carthage blended Phoenician, Greek, and Egyptian traditions. Featured the goddess Tan...

The earliest coinage of India, made by punching symbols onto silver bars. Each symbol represented a ...

The silver coins of the Gupta Empire were based on the Satavahana and Kshatrapa coinage traditions. ...

The coins of the Maratha Confederacy, which challenged Mughal power. Featured the Maratha flag and s...

The coins of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Featured the Sikh symbol and the name of G...

A reform coinage under Sultan Abdulmejid I. The gold medjidie was worth 100 kurus or 5 piastres. Fea...

The Russian half ruble silver coin. Featured the monogram of Peter the Great on early issues. The po...

A small Russian coin worth half a kopek. The word denga is the origin of the English word money thro...

The main silver coin of Sweden for centuries. The riksdaler was the Swedish equivalent of the German...

A Polish silver coin worth three groschen. Featured the Polish eagle and the rulers name. The trojak...

The Bohemian silver coin minted at Joachimsthal, giving the taler its name. The Czech talar featured...

The coinage of the Papal States, featuring the reigning pope. Papal coins were minted in Rome for ov...

A small Venetian silver coin worth 12 piccoli. The soldino was used in everyday commerce. Venice had...

The silver grosso of Florence was an important trade coin. Featured a lily on one side and Saint Joh...

A thin silver coin introduced by Leo III, modeled on the Islamic dirham. Featured a cross and steps ...

The coinage of Kievan Rus under Vladimir the Great and his successors. Featured the rulers portrait ...

Long thin silver ingots used in medieval Novgorod and other Russian cities. Also called wire money o...

Silver coins shaped like a bullet or bent seed. Also called pod duang. Each piece was handmade by be...

The coins of the Kingdom of Burma before British colonization. Featured the peacock emblem of the Ko...

The currency of Ethiopia since 1894. Emperor Menelik II introduced the birr after modernizing the co...

Also called trachy, these cup shaped coins are unique to Byzantium. The reason for the cup shape is ...

Coins minted by the Latin Empire established after the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople in 120...

Coins of the Empire of Nicaea, one of the Byzantine successor states after the Fourth Crusade. Emper...

See Persian Siglos entry. The Achaemenid siglos was the silver workhorse of the Persian Empire. Over...

See Bactrian Coin entry. The Bactrian tetradrachms of Eucratides I were the largest ancient silver c...

Coins of the Indo-Greek kingdoms that ruled parts of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India after t...

Coins of the Kushano-Sasanian governors who ruled Bactria and parts of northern India for the Sasani...

Coins of the Hephthalite or White Huns who devastated the Gupta Empire and Sasanian Persia in the 5t...

Coins of the Turk Shahi dynasty that ruled Kabul and Gandhara. Featured bull and horseman designs, r...

Coins of the Ayyubid dynasty founded by Saladin. Featured the names of the ruler and the Abbasid cal...

Coins of the Mamluk Sultanate that ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517. The Mamluks were slave s...

Coins of the Fatimid Caliphate, the Shia rival to the Abbasid caliphs. Fatimid gold dinars were reno...

Coins of the Almohad Caliphate that succeeded the Almoravids. Featured the name of the Almohad ruler...

The coins of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state in Spain. Featured the Nasrid motto There...

Coins of the Marinid dynasty that succeeded the Almohads in Morocco. The Marinids attempted to recre...

Coins of the Sur Empire founded by Sher Shah Suri, who expelled Humayun from India. Sher Shah introd...

The coinage of the Vijayanagara Empire, the last great Hindu empire of southern India. Featured Hind...

The silver rupee of the Maratha Empire. Minted at Pune, Satara, and Tanjore. The Maratha rupee maint...

Coins minted by the British East India Company in India. The EIC received minting rights from the Mu...

The silver rupee of British India after the Crown took control from the East India Company. Featured...

Coins of the 565 princely states that coexisted with British India. Each state had its own coinage, ...

Coins of Portuguese India, covering Goa, Daman, and Diu. Portuguese coins were minted in Goa from th...

The currency of French India, covering Pondicherry, Chandernagore, Mahe, Yanam, and Karikal. The Fre...

A small silver coin of the Kandyan Kingdom of Sri Lanka. The fanam was worth 1/12 of a rupee. Featur...

The currency of the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. First issued by the VOC. The gulden was modele...

The US issued special coins for the Philippines after acquiring it from Spain in 1898. Featured a Fi...

See Spanish Piece of Eight. The real de a ocho was the formal name for the eight real coin. The term...

See Spanish Escudo entry. The 8 escudos gold coin was equivalent to the doubloon and was the largest...

A Spanish colonial two real coin worth about 20 cents in US terms. The pistareen was common in circu...

A pattern coin design by Charles Barber featuring Liberty with her hair tied up, hence the nickname ...

A pattern coin design featuring Liberty seated with a sword and shield, nicknamed Amazonian. Designe...

A pattern dollar coin made of goloid, an alloy of silver, gold, and copper. Proposed by Dr. William ...

Commemorative coins issued for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Include...

A series of commemorative coins issued from 1892 to 1954. The first was the Columbian Exposition hal...

Modern commemorative coins resumed in 1982 with the Washington half dollar commemorating the 250th a...

See Chinese Sycee entry. Sycee were also called yuanbao meaning original treasure. The shape varied ...

The traditional silver coin of Siam, later renamed the baht. The tical was a silver bullet money or ...

Coins of Burma featuring the peacock, the symbol of the Konbaung Dynasty. The last Burmese coins wer...

The silver coin of Tibet before Chinese incorporation. Featured Buddhist symbols including the eight...

The silver coins of the Knights of Malta featured the distinctive eight pointed cross of the Order. ...

The denarius of Tiberius is traditionally identified as the tribute penny from the Biblical passage ...

According to the New Testament, Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The coins are typi...

The silver shekel of Tyre was the most trusted silver coin in the eastern Mediterranean. Featured Me...

Coins struck by Jewish rebels during the Bar Kokhba revolt against Rome from 132 to 136 AD. Made by ...

Coins of the Hanseatic League, the powerful trading network of northern European cities. The Hanseat...

A thin single sided silver coin produced in medieval Germany and Scandinavia. The design was stamped...

A French imitation of the English gros tournois. Featured the walls of Tours on one side and a cross...

The French version of the Italian testone, a heavy silver coin featuring a portrait. Introduced unde...

The English silver penny of the Norman and Plantagenet kings, renowned for its consistent silver con...

Coins minted during sieges when normal coin supplies ran out. siege money was made from silver plate...

A Spanish dollar with the center punched out, creating two coins from one. The outer ring called the...

The center punched from the Spanish dollar to create the holey dollar. The dump was worth 15 pence o...

See Three Cent Silver entry. The trime was designed by James B. Longacre. The Type 1 had no border s...

The half dime series includes the Flowing Hair, Draped Bust, Capped Bust, and Seated Liberty types. ...

The twenty cent piece was championed by Nevada Senator John P. Jones to increase silver demand. The ...

See US Trade Dollar entry. The Trade dollar was designed by William Barber. The reverse featured a e...

Colonial American coins include the Massachusetts Pine Tree and Oak Tree shillings minted in Boston ...

Minted secretly in Boston by John Hull under authorization of the Massachusetts General Court. Featu...

In April 1861, the New Orleans Mint struck four prototype half dollars for the Confederacy. The obve...

Coins minted for the Philippines under US administration from 1903 to 1945. Featured a Filipino man ...

Coins minted for Puerto Rico under Spanish colonial rule. The 1895 peso and fractional denominations...

See Hawaiian Coinage entry. The 1883 Hawaiian dollar featured King Kalakaua and was minted at the Sa...

Special silver coins given by the British monarch to deserving elderly people on Maundy Thursday bef...

The large Austrian 1000 schilling commemorative coins of the postwar era. Featured notable Austrians...

The large silver 5 franc coin featuring Hercules between two allegorical female figures representing...

The large silver 500 lire coin of Italy. Featured a woman planting a tree on the reverse. The 500 li...

Proof sets with the dime, quarter, and half dollar struck in 90 percent silver instead of the standa...

A premium proof set from 1983 to 1997 that included the commemorative silver dollar and sometimes ha...

The US Mint has produced presidential medals since the early 1800s. The series began with Thomas Jef...

Medals commemorating Zebulon Pike, the explorer who discovered Pikes Peak in Colorado. Early America...

The US Assay Commission tested the accuracy and purity of gold and silver coins annually from 1797 t...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 300th anniversary of the Huguenot settlement in New York. Fe...

The longest running US commemorative coin, minted intermittently from 1926 to 1939. Featured a Nativ...

A controversial commemorative half dollar marking the 50th anniversary of Cincinnati as a music cent...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 200th anniversary of Daniel Boones birth. Featured Boone and...

A commemorative half dollar marking the centennial of Texas independence. Featured an eagle and a go...

A commemorative half dollar marking the centennial of Cleveland as a city. Featured a bust of Moses ...

A commemorative half dollar featuring P. T. Barnum, the circus impresario and former mayor of Bridge...

A commemorative half dollar marking the centennial of Arkansas statehood. Featured Liberty and an ea...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 300th anniversary of the first settlement on Long Island. Fe...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 300th anniversary of the founding of Providence, Rhode Islan...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 150th anniversary of Lynchburg, Virginia. Featured Liberty a...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 300th anniversary of the Norfolk, Virginia land grant. Featu...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 250th anniversary of the charter of Albany, New York. Featur...

A commemorative half dollar marking the opening of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. Featured a ...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 300th anniversary of the first Swedish settlement in Delawar...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Featured a Uni...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. Featured the por...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 350th anniversary of the Roanoke Colony, the Lost Colony. Fe...

A commemorative half dollar honoring Will Rogers, the Cherokee cowboy humorist who died in a plane c...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of New Rochelle, New York,...

A commemorative half dollar marking the 100th anniversary of Iowa statehood. Featured the Old Stone ...

A commemorative half dollar honoring Booker T. Washington, the African American educator and founder...

A commemorative half dollar honoring both Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. Designe...

A commemorative half dollar that was authorized but never actually minted. Daniel Webster, the famou...

See Iowa Half Dollar entry. The Iowa centennial half dollar was designed by Adam Pietz. The coin was...