Coin

The first true coin in history. Minted by King Alyattes in the kingdom of Lydia, in what is now Turk...

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 standard gold coin of Imperial Rome. Worth 25 silver denarii. Augustus established the regular m...

Introduced by Constantine the Great, the solidus remained unchanged in weight and purity for nearly ...

First issued by Caliph Abd al-Malik in his coinage reform of 696 AD. Featured no images, only Qurani...

The first major European gold coin since the fall of Rome. Florence minted the fiorino with the lily...

The most successful trade coin in history, minted continuously for over 500 years. Featured the Doge...

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 ...

First issued under Henry VII, the sovereign was the flagship English gold coin. Featured the monarch...

One of the longest continuously used coin names in the world. First minted in silver by King Offa of...

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

The twenty dollar gold coin, the largest denomination of regular issue US coinage. First minted duri...

The first US coin to feature a real person, replacing the Indian Head cent on the 100th anniversary ...

The longest-lived coin design in history, produced for over 2,000 years. Round with a square hole, r...

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

The gold coin of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Featured a kneeling king holding a bow and spear. Na...

The standard gold coin of Mughal India. First issued by Sher Shah Suri and refined by Akbar. Weighed...

The large bronze coin introduced by Anastasius I as part of his monetary reform. Featured the empero...

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

The gold coin of the Republic of Genoa, introduced the same year as the Florentine florin. Featured ...

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 first English gold coin produced in quantity. Featured Edward III in a ship, possibly referencin...

Featured the Arch Michael slaying a dragon. Worth 6 shillings and 8 pence initially. The angel becam...

The famous Spanish gold coin, worth 2 escudos or 4 dollars. Minted from gold looted from the America...

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 20 franc gold coin of Napoleon Bonaparte. Featured his profile on the obverse. The Napoleon was ...

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

The standard gold coin of Prussia under Frederick the Great. Worth 5 talers. Featured the bust of th...

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

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

A common circulation coin featuring a flying crane. The 500 won coin is the highest denomination coi...

Introduced with decimalisation in 1971. Featured the Badge of the Prince of Wales, a plume of ostric...

The largest circulating coin in Australia. Features the coat of arms of Australia. The original 1966...

The one dollar coin of Canada. Features a common loon on the reverse, giving it the nickname loonie....

The two dollar coin of Canada. Features a polar bear on the reverse. Bimetallic with an aluminum bro...

The one cent coin of the eurozone. The smallest denomination of euro coin. Features a globe on the c...

The highest denomination Japanese coin in circulation. Features a Paulownia flower and the value in ...

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

Also called the Centenario. Commemorates 100 years of Mexican independence. Contains 1.2057 ounces o...

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 ...

The official gold bullion coin of Canada. Contains one troy ounce of 99.99 percent pure gold, among ...

The first modern bullion coin, introduced in 1967. Contains exactly one troy ounce of pure gold. Fea...

The best selling gold bullion coin in the world in 1992, 1995, and 1996. Features instruments of the...

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

Chinas gold bullion coin, first issued in 1982. Like the silver version, features a different panda ...

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...

Gold coins of the Kushan Empire, which ruled Central Asia and northern India. Featured the king stan...

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 ...

The gold dinar of the Abbasid Caliphate, the dominant gold coin of the medieval Mediterranean. Featu...

The gold coins minted by the Crusader states in the Holy Land. Initially copies of Byzantine and Isl...

The largest coins ever produced, made of copper plates weighing up to 19.7 kg. Sweden had copper min...

The earliest electrum coins before King Croesus introduced pure gold and silver. These crude coins w...

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...

An oval gold coin of the Edo period. Featured the value and mint marks stamped on a thin gold plate....

A very large oval gold coin, worth 10 koban. Given as gifts to daimyo and samurai rather than used i...

Peter the Greats gold coin, modeled on the Hungarian ducat and Dutch ducat. Featured the tsars portr...

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

The standard gold coin of the Ottoman Empire, also called the altin. Modeled on the Venetian ducat w...

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

The Malay sultanates issued tin cash coins modeled on Chinese cash coins but with Arabic inscription...

The gold louis or louis dor was introduced by Louis XIII. Featured the kings bust on the obverse. Th...

The first franc coin, a gold coin depicting King John II on horseback. Created to pay the ransom for...

A Portuguese gold coin that circulated widely in Britain and its American colonies. Worth about 27 s...

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...

The smallest denomination ever minted by the United States. Worth half a cent or 1/200 of a dollar. ...

The large cent was minted from 1793 to 1857. Early types included the Chain, Wreath, and Liberty Cap...

The first US coin to bear the motto In God We Trust. Introduced during the Civil War when copper coi...

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

Introduced near the end of the Civil War to replace the tiny silver trime. Made of copper-nickel all...

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...

The first US dollar coin issued after the Peace dollar series ended in 1935. Featured President Dwig...

The first US coin to feature a real woman. Susan B. Anthony was a leader of the womens suffrage move...

Featured Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who guided Lewis and Clark. The golden color was intended to ...

A series honoring deceased US presidents, issued four per year from 2007 to 2016 and one final in 20...

Featured Lady Liberty wearing a Native American headdress, not an actual Native American. Designed b...

Also called the Indian Head nickel. Featured a Native American chief on the obverse and an American ...

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

Also called the V nickel for the Roman numeral five on the reverse. The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is ...

Featured President Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and Monticello on the reverse. Designed by Felix ...

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...

The official gold bullion coin of the United States. Contains one troy ounce of 91.67 percent pure g...

The official platinum bullion coin of the United States. The only US bullion coin available in 1/10 ...

The newest US bullion coin program. Features the Mercury dime Liberty design on the obverse and a hi...

A quarter of an old penny. The farthing was minted from the 13th century until 1956. Featured Britan...

Also called the ha penny. Worth half a penny. The pre-decimal halfpenny was minted until 1969. Featu...

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. ...

The large bronze coin of Imperial Rome, worth four asses. The sestertius was the main coin of everyd...

The basic bronze coin of the Roman Republic. Originally cast, not struck, weighing one Roman pound. ...

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 gold coins of the Gupta Empire, considered the Golden Age of India. Featured the emperor perform...

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 largest and most impressive English gold coin of the Tudor period. Featured Henry VII seated on ...

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

A private copper token coinage for the American colonies, produced by William Wood under a patent fr...

The first official one cent coin issued by the United States. Designed by Benjamin Franklin. Feature...

Coins authorized by the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation. The Fugio cent was...

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

A proposed one cent coin for the Confederacy. Designed by Robert Lovett Jr. of Philadelphia. Only 12...

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...

Coins of Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria from 1932 to 1945. Featured designs refle...

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...

A gold coin that replaced the solidus as the standard Byzantine gold coin. Slightly lighter than the...

Featured a colonial drummer boy on the reverse instead of the eagle. Dated 1776-1976. Over 1.6 billi...

Featured Independence Hall on the reverse. Dated 1776-1976. Over 521 million minted. The design by S...

The Eisenhower dollar with a special reverse featuring the Liberty Bell superimposed over the moon. ...

A 56 coin series featuring national parks and sites, one per state and territory. Issued from 2010 t...

A series honoring American innovation and innovators, one per state. Issued from 2019 at four per ye...

The most successful coin program in history. Five quarters per year from 1999 to 2008, each featurin...

Six additional quarters honoring the District of Columbia and five US territories: Puerto Rico, Guam...

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...

Featured Liberty with a classical hairstyle, hence the name Classic Head. Minted from 1808 to 1814. ...

Also called the Matron Head or Liberty Head cent. Featured Liberty wearing a coronet inscribed LIBER...

The final large cent design. Featured Liberty with braided hair. Minted from 1839 to 1857. The 1857 ...

The first small cent, replacing the large copper cent. Featured an eagle in flight on the obverse. D...

See the Two Cent Piece entry. The two cent bronze was introduced alongside the new copper-nickel sma...

The first nickel five cent piece. Featured a shield on the obverse and the numeral 5 surrounded by s...

See Liberty Head Nickel entry. The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five known and is worth m...

The buffalo was modeled on Black Diamond, a bison at the Central Park Zoo. The Native American portr...

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

The US Mint produced special three coin sets for the Bicentennial featuring the quarter, half dollar...

A modern dollar coin series honoring American innovation. Each year features four designs representi...

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...

See Mexican 50 Peso entry. The Centenario was reintroduced as a restrike from 1943 to 1972 for bulli...

The Dos Mundos or Two Worlds coin was a variant name for the 50 peso gold coin. Featured the angel o...

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...

The platinum bullion coin of Canada. Available in 1 oz through 1/20 oz sizes. The platinum maple was...

The Canadian one cent coin was minted from 1858 to 2012. Featured maple leaves on the reverse. The C...

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 Australian gold bullion coin featuring a kangaroo. The kangaroo design changes annually, making ...

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 modern sovereign was reintroduced in 1817 after the Napoleonic Wars. Featured George III and Sai...

The copper coin of everyday commerce in the early Islamic world. Unlike gold dinars and silver dirha...

The first purely Islamic gold coin. Caliph Abd al-Malik introduced it in his coinage reform of 696. ...

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...

A small electrum coin worth one sixth of a stater. Minted primarily at Kyzikos, a Greek city on the ...

The gold coins of the Celtic tribes of Gaul and Britain. Modeled on the gold stater of Philip II of ...

The gold coins of Philip II and Alexander the Great. Philips staters featured Apollo on the obverse ...

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 copper coins of the Kushan Empire were the everyday currency of Central Asia and northern India....

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

The coins of the Chola Empire of southern India. Featured the Chola tiger emblem, fish, and bow. The...

The copper coin of the Mughal Empire, the everyday currency for common people. The dam was worth app...

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...

The copper coin of everyday commerce in the Ottoman Empire. Featured the name of the sultan and the ...

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 ...

Tin cash coins of the Malay sultanates, influenced by Chinese cash coins but with local characterist...

The Japanese one sen coin, worth 1/100 of a yen. Introduced with the Meiji monetary reform. Featured...

Korean cash coins modeled on Chinese cash coins but with Korean inscriptions. Featured the name of t...

Vietnamese cash coins with Chinese style inscriptions but Vietnamese dynastic names. Minted by the L...

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...

Features Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the legendary Korean naval commander who defeated the Japanese navy usi...

A bimetallic coin with a nickel brass center and copper nickel ring. Features 15 spokes on the rever...

The British one pound coin replaced the one pound banknote in 1983. Featured Queen Elizabeth II on t...

The bimetallic two pound coin features a nickel brass outer ring and copper nickel center. Reverse d...

The highest denomination euro coin. Bimetallic with a nickel brass center and copper nickel ring. Ea...

The one euro coin is bimetallic with a copper nickel center and nickel brass ring, the reverse of th...

A gold coin introduced by Nikephoros II Phokas, slightly lighter and wider than the histamenon. The ...

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...

See Islamic Fals. Early Umayyad copper coins retained Byzantine and Sasanian imagery before the refo...

Copper coins of the Abbasid Caliphate, minted in dozens of cities across the Islamic world. Each cit...

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...

Gold dinars of the Almoravid dynasty that ruled Morocco and Muslim Spain. The Almoravids controlled ...

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...

The standard gold coin of the Mughal Empire. Akbar standardized the mohur at approximately 10.9 gram...

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...

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

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

See Russian Chervonets entry. The 1923 chervonets was part of Lenins New Economic Policy, which part...

A debased silver or copper coin used for small transactions in Spain and its colonies. The vellon sy...

A half real copper coin used in Spain and its colonies. The medio was the smallest silver denominati...

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

A small copper coin worth one quarter of a maravedi. The cuarto was the lowest denomination coin in ...

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 proposed four dollar gold coin, also called the Flowing Hair Stella. Intended for international tr...

A proposed fifty dollar gold coin pattern. Two patterns were struck at the Philadelphia mint in 1877...

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 ...

See US Stella entry. The Stella was proposed to approximate the Latin Monetary Union standard. At 7 ...

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...

A series of half ounce gold coins honoring the First Ladies of the United States. Issued alongside t...

A Chinese coin type featuring mythological scenes from the Fengshen Yanyi, the popular Chinese novel...

Local coinage from Cheju Island off the coast of China, featuring distinctive local designs. Local a...

Coins of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last Vietnamese imperial dynasty. Featured the reign title of the e...

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. ...

See Roman Aureus entry. The aureus was minted at 40 to the Roman pound under Augustus, weighing abou...

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...

The small bronze coin of Judea under the Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties. Featured Jewish symbols i...

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

Coins of the Hasmonean dynasty founded by the Maccabean revolt. Featured Jewish symbols including th...

Coins of Herod the Great and his successors. Featured Greek and Roman imagery alongside Jewish symbo...

See Crusader Bezant entry. The term bezant was used by Western Europeans for any gold coin from Byza...

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...

A French gold coin featuring angels, related to the English angel coin. The angelot was minted durin...

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...

The Byzantine name for the gold solidus. The nomisma was the standard gold coin of the Byzantine Emp...

The last Umayyad copper coins before the reform of Abd al-Malik. These coins showed the caliph stand...

A copper coin of the Abbasid period used for small transactions. The copper dirham or fels was minte...

A large copper coin minted during the Napoleonic era in Spain. The millonet was worth one thousandth...

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...

The early US copper coinage includes the Chain cent, Wreath cent, Liberty Cap cent, and half cent of...

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...

A state copper coinage authorized by the Connecticut legislature. Featured a seated Liberty on the o...

See Fugio Cent entry. Designed by Benjamin Franklin. The reverse showed 13 linked rings, a design la...

The Flying Eagle cent of 1856 to 1858 was followed by the Indian Head cent of 1859 to 1909 and the L...

The five dollar gold half eagle was authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The Turban Head half eagl...

The two and a half dollar gold coin. The 1796 quarter eagle had no stars on the obverse. The 1808 qu...

An unusual denomination minted from 1854 to 1889. Designed by James B. Longacre. Created to facilita...

See US Stella entry. The four dollar Stella was proposed to align with the Latin Monetary Union. Two...

The smallest US gold coin, only 13 millimeters in diameter for the Type 1. The gold dollar was creat...

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

See Confederate Cent entry. The original 12 Confederate cents were struck by Robert Lovett Jr. of Ph...

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...

On February 15, 1971, Britain switched to decimal currency. Decimal Day or D Day ended over 1,000 ye...

The heptagonal fifty pence coin replaced the ten shilling note. Featured Britannia on the reverse in...

A small heptagonal coin introduced to bridge the gap between the 10p and 50p. Featured the crowned T...

The decimal ten pence replaced the florin, continuing the 1848 tradition of a tenth of a pound coin....

The decimal five pence replaced the shilling. The original large 5p was reduced in size in 1990. Fea...

See British Two Pence entry. The 2p featured the Badge of the Prince of Wales on the reverse until 2...

The decimal one penny replaced the old penny which had been used for over 1,200 years. Featured a po...

The original decimal penny was called the new penny to distinguish it from the old pre decimal penny...

The euro coin designs were chosen through competitions. The obverse or national side was designed by...

The 50 euro cent coin features each countrys national design on the obverse and a map of Europe on t...

The 20 euro cent coin has a distinctive scalloped edge with seven indentations to aid recognition by...

The 10 euro cent coin features a large edge with fine ridges. Made of Nordic Gold alloy. Over 10 bil...

The 5 euro cent coin is made of copper covered steel. Features a smooth edge. Over 15 billion have b...

The 2 euro cent coin features a grooved edge with a fine ridge pattern. Made of copper covered steel...

Commemorative 2 euro coins are special issues with modified national sides. Each country may issue u...

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

The Swiss 20 franc gold coin featuring Vreneli, the informal name for the head of Liberty in the Swi...

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

A large gold commemorative coin minted by France in the 1950s and 1960s. Featured various subjects i...

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

The Italian 1000 lire bimetallic commemorative series. Italy pioneered bimetallic coinage in Europe ...

Euro coins of Vatican City, the smallest country to issue euros. Vatican euro coins feature the Pope...

Euro coins of San Marino, a tiny republic surrounded by Italy. San Marino has a monetary agreement w...

Euro coins of Monaco. Featured Prince Rainier III and later Prince Albert II. Monaco euros are minte...

Euro coins of Andorra, the co principality in the Pyrenees. Andorra did not issue its own euros unti...

The American Platinum Eagle is the only US bullion coin with a proof version that changes design ann...

A designation used by grading services PCGS and NGC for coins submitted within the first 30 days of ...

Official US Mint sets containing uncirculated examples of every coin issued for circulation each yea...

Sets of proof coins sold by the US Mint. Proof coins are struck twice on polished blanks with polish...

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...

See Mint Set entry. The modern uncirculated coin set includes coins from both Philadelphia and Denve...

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...

The Isle of Man has issued its own coins since 1709. The Manx pound is pegged at par with the Britis...

The Bailiwick of Jersey issues its own coins and banknotes pegged at par with the British pound. Jer...

The Bailiwick of Guernsey issues its own currency pegged at par with the British pound. Guernsey coi...