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The Coin Wiki
Argentina — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
Argentina 1 Peso 1960 — 150th Anniversary of the May Revolution
Argentine “Patacón” Silver Peso (1881–1883) — the First National Silver
Argentino de Oro — Argentina’s 5 Pesos Gold (1881–1896)
Colonial Cob Coinage — Potosí Silver for the Río de la Plata
Australia — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
1813 Holey Dollar — Australia’s First Coin
1855 Sydney Mint Sovereign — First Year of Australian Gold Coinage
1927 Canberra Florin — Australia’s First Commemorative Coin
1930 Australian Penny — The “Poor Man’s” Million-Dollar Penny
Austria — Red Book Chapter
Austrian 100 Corona Gold (1908–1915)
Austrian Gold Philharmonic (1989–Date)
Maria Theresa Thaler 1780 (Restrikes)
Brazil Coinage — Country Hub
Brazil 1 Real 1994 — First Family of the Plano Real
Brazil 4000 Réis Gold, Maria I (1787–1805)
Brazil 6400 Réis Gold, Pedro I (1823–1830)
Brazil 960 Réis 1810 — Overstruck on Spanish 8 Reales
Canada — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
1911 Canadian Silver Dollar — “The Emperor of Canadian Coins”
1921 Canadian Silver 5 Cents — “The Prince of Canadian Coins”
1935 Canadian Voyageur Silver Dollar — Canada’s First Silver Dollar
1947 Maple Leaf Canadian 5 Cents — The Transitional Rarity
Canadian Gold Maple Leaf — Pure-Gold Icon of the Royal Canadian Mint
Chile — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
Chile “Volcano Peso” (1817–1834) — the First Coin of Independent Chile
Chile 1 Peso “Cóndor” Silver (1867–1891) — the Condor Over the Shield
Chile 10 Pesos Gold 1895 — the One-Year “Lower Gold Standard” Issue
Chile 100 Pesos Gold (1926–1980) — “Diez Condores”
China — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
1911 Hsüan-t’ung “Short-Whiskered Dragon” Pattern Dollar — The $4.87 Million Coin
Chinese Panda Gold & Silver Coins (1982–Present) — The World’s Most Collected Bullion Series
Kwangtung Dragon Dollar (1890–1908) — China’s First Machine-Struck Silver Dollar
Yuan Shih-kai “Fat Man” Silver Dollar (1914–1921) — China’s Workhorse Dollar
Colombia — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
Colombia 10 Pesos “Libertad” Gold (1853–1857)
Colombia 5 Pesos Gold (1913–1930) — the “Colombian Sovereign”
Colonial 8 Escudos Gold — the Bogotá & Popayán “Doubloon”
Colonial 8 Reales — Bogotá & Popayán
Denmark — Red Book Chapter
Denmark — Gold 20 Kroner “Mermaid,” Christian IX (1873–1900)
Denmark — Gold 20 Kroner, Christian X (1913–1931)
Denmark — Silver 2 Kroner 1903, 40th Anniversary of Christian IX’s Reign
Denmark — Silver 2 Kroner 1912, Death of Frederik VIII
Finland — Red Book Chapter
Finland — Gold 20 Markkaa, Nicholas II (1903–1913)
Finland — Silver 1 Markka, Imperial Issue (1864–1915)
Finland — Silver 1 Markka, Republic Issue (1964–1968)
Finland — Silver 10 Markkaa 1967, 50th Anniversary of Independence
France — Red Book Chapter
France 1 Franc “Semeuse” Silver — Oscar Roty’s Sower (1898–1920)
France 20 Francs Gold — the “Napoléon” (1803–1914)
France 5 Francs “Hercule” Silver (1848–1878)
French Euro Coins — National Designs (2002–)
Germany — Red Book Chapter
1952 Germanisches Museum 5 Deutsche Mark — West Germany’s First Commemorative
Friedrich III 1888 20 Mark — The “Year of Three Emperors” Coin
German Empire Gold 20 Mark (1871–1915) — Europe’s Workhorse Gold Coin
Weimar “Oak Tree” 5 Mark (1927–1933) — The Republic’s Silver Icon
Guides
1914-D Lincoln cent: a key-date checkpoint
1916-D Mercury dime: the certified-only rule
1932-D Washington quarter: first-year scarcity
1955 doubled die: real doubling versus flat doubling
A core path through Puerto Rico coinage
Approach estate sales with a written buy list
Budget for returns, promotion, and lost time
Build a Japan coin-hunt hit list
Build a practical counterfeit-screening kit
Build grading skill with a 50-photo drill
Building the 77-coin Mercury dime set
Calculate true net before listing a coin
Carry two numbers: melt and premium
Check spot before every buying trip
Choose auction or Buy It Now on purpose
Choose the right selling route for an inherited collection
Compare original surfaces with cleaned surfaces
Compare Tokyo shop tags with sold listings
Connect grade risk to buying margin
Convert grams to troy ounces correctly
Decide whether grading adds enough value
eBay Fee Math: Why a $140 Sale Nets $15
Evaluate the seller as part of the coin
Explain an offer from realistic resale
Five ways seller lighting can hide evidence
From collector habits to dealer discipline
Gold Basics for the Coin Buyer
Inspect a suspicious added mint mark
Japan coin hunt: a pre-trip field plan
Junk-Silver Flip Math: Buy Price vs. Melt vs. eBay Net
Junk-Silver Halves: Franklin, Walking Liberty, and Kennedy 40% Silver
Keep a sale record the family can follow
Keep the collection wallet separate
Know what the magnet test can—and cannot—prove
Know when one eBay listing is not worth it
Let a too-good price slow the deal down
Look for altered digits and date spacing
Look for the ghost of a removed mint mark
Machine Doubling vs. Real Doubled Die: The Tell That Saves You Money
Measure diameter twice
Melt is a floor, not the whole price
Mercury Dime Wear Points (Grading From Photos)
Morgan Dollars: The Most Misgraded-from-Photos Series (Long-Form)
Morgan wear points: ear, cheek, breast, bow, rim
Photograph the coin, including its problems
Plan the Nakano Broadway field report
Price from sold listings, not wishes
Read a Morgan dollar from photographs
Read surfaces in a fixed loupe sequence
Read the Sheldon scale in useful neighborhoods
Recognize a mechanically whizzed surface
Run the slab-or-not calculation
Scan every rim and edge
Separate stable toning from environmental damage
Set the maximum buy before you bid
Ship like the sale still depends on it
Slot-Fill Episode Format (Mercury Set Series)
Sort a coin box into three useful piles
Tell random bag marks from systematic wear
The 0.715 rule for 90% U.S. silver
The first 48 hours with an inherited collection
The Loupe Surface Exam, Live
The recorded eight-coin Mercury chase list
The Thanksgiving table where this started
The two-wallet rule in one page
The Weekend Coin Dealer operating rhythm
Turn authentication into a practiced routine
Turn coin evidence into a written offer record
Understand the “junk silver” category
Use cartwheel luster to separate wear from shine
Use coin shows as a pricing classroom
Use one pre-purchase sequence every time
Use the ring test only as a screen
Use weight as the first objective screen
What “collectible” actually means
What Is a Key Date? (The Concept Explainer)
What makes a coin a key date?
Why “shiny” is not a grade
Why the Mercury set hunt is a teaching series
India — Country Hub: From Company Rupees to the Modern Rupee
British India One Rupee 1835 — William IV
British India One Rupee 1862 — Victoria
India 10 Rupees 1972 — 25th Anniversary of Independence (Silver)
Ireland — Red Book Chapter
Ireland £1 Punt Coin 1990 — Red Deer
Ireland 1943 Florin & Half Crown — Key Dates
Ireland 1966 Ten Shillings — Easter Rising Commemorative
Irish Euro Coins (2002–present)
Italy — Red Book Chapter
Italian Euro Coins — National Designs (2002–)
Italy 20 Lire Gold “Marengo” (1861–1927)
Italy 5 Lire “Delfino” — the Dolphin (1951–1998)
Italy 500 Lire Bimetallic (1982–2001)
Japan — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
Japanese Trade Dollar (1875–1877) — Japan’s Bid for the China Silver Trade
Koban & Oban — Gold of the Samurai Era (1601–1867)
Meiji Gold 20 Yen (1870–1892) — Japan’s Flagship Imperial Gold Coin
Meiji Year 13 (1880) Proof Coinage — Japan’s Rarest Modern Set
Mexico — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
Mexican “Caballito” Peso — The Horsewoman of the Revolution
Mexican Cap-and-Rays 8 Reales — The Successor to the Piece of Eight
Mexican Silver Libertad — The Angel Without a Face Value
Mexico 50 Pesos “Centenario” — Winged Victory in Gold
Netherlands — Red Book Chapter
Dutch Euro Coins — Beatrix & Willem-Alexander (1999–)
Netherlands 1 Gulden — Queen Beatrix Nickel (1982–2001)
Netherlands 10 Gulden Gold — Queen Wilhelmina (1892–1933)
New Zealand Coinage — Country Hub
New Zealand 1935 Waitangi Crown
New Zealand 1940 Centennial Half Crown
New Zealand 1949 Royal Visit Crown
Norway — Red Book Chapter
Norway — Gold 20 Kroner 1910, Haakon VII
Norway — Gold 20 Kroner, Oscar II (1874–1902)
Norway — Silver 1 Krone, Oscar II (1877–1904)
Norway — Silver 2 Kroner, Oscar II (1878–1904)
Peru — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
Lima Mint 8 Reales — Pillar and Bust Types
Peru 1 Sol Silver (1864–1916) — the Seated Liberty Sol
Peru 50 Soles Gold — the “Inca” and the “Soles Oro”
Peruvian Gold Libra (1898–1930) — the “Libra Peruana de Oro”
Privacy Policy
Puerto Rico — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
1895 Alfonso XIII One Peso — Puerto Rico’s Silver Crown
1896 Puerto Rico 10 Centavos — the Conditionally Rare Fractional
2009 Puerto Rico Quarter — “Isla del Encanto”
Puerto Rico 20 Centavos 1895 & 5 Centavos 1896 — the Provincial Fractionals
Russia — Red Book Chapter
Imperial Russian 5 Roubles Gold — Nicholas II (1897–1911)
Soviet Gold Chervonets “Sower” (1923)
Soviet Silver Rouble 1924
Sample Page
South Africa Coinage — Country Hub
South Africa 1892 Double Shaft Pond
South Africa 1902 Veld Pond
South Africa 2008 Mandela 90th Birthday R5
South Africa Krugerrand (1967–present)
South Korea — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
1966 10-Won First Series — Korea’s First Modern Coins
1988 Seoul Olympics Commemorative Coins (1986–1988) — Korea’s Coming-Out Party in Metal
1998 500-Won Mint Set Coin — Korea’s “Million-Won Coin”
Korean Empire Gold Coinage (1897–1910) — Korea’s Brief Imperial Issues
Spain — Red Book Chapter
Spain 25 Pesetas Gold — Alfonso XII “Alfonsino” (1877–1885)
Spain 5 Pesetas Silver “Duro” (1869–1870)
Spain 8 Reales “Pillar Dollar” — the Piece of Eight
Spanish Euro Coins — National Designs (2002–)
Sweden — Red Book Chapter
Sweden — 1 Daler Copper Plate Money (Plåtmynt)
Sweden — Gold 20 Kronor of Oscar II (1873–1902)
Sweden — Silver 1 Krona (1875–1967)
Sweden — Silver 2 Kronor (1876–1940)
Switzerland — Red Book Chapter
Swiss 5 Francs — Herdsman/Helvetia Type (1922–Date)
Swiss Shooting Thaler (Schützentaler) 5 Francs
Swiss Vreneli 20 Francs Gold (1897–1949)
United Kingdom — Red Book Chapter
1847 Victoria Gothic Crown — William Wyon’s Masterpiece
1933 British Penny — Britain’s Most Famous Rarity
Britannia Bullion Coins — The Royal Mint’s Flagship Investor Coin
British Gold Sovereign — The World’s Most Recognised Gold Coin
United States — Country Hub: Currency History, Key Series & What Collectors Hunt
1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar — America’s First Silver Dollar
1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent — The Most Famous Cent in the World
1916-D Mercury Dime — The Key to the Winged Liberty Series
American Gold Eagle (1986–Present) — The U.S. Mint’s Flagship Bullion Coin
Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (1907–1933) — America’s Most Beautiful Gold Coin
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September 16, 2026