Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Australian Penny
Large bronze pre-decimal Australian penny with a leaping kangaroo, AUSTRALIA and PENNY on one side and a monarch's bust on the other.
World Coins
Solidus of Valentinian I
The gold solidus of Valentinian I (AD 364-375), a pure-gold coin bearing his pearl-diademed profile that anchored the late Roman monetary system.
Ancient
Solidus of Constantine I the Great
Constantine the Great's gold solidus, a high-purity coin struck from about AD 309 that became the standard of late Roman and Byzantine gold.
Ancient
Antoninianus of Carus
Late-Roman bronze radiate of the emperor Carus (282-283 AD), showing his bearded, spiky-crowned head and a standing personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Antiochos IV Epiphanes Tetradrachm
Large silver tetradrachm of the Seleucid king Antiochos IV Epiphanes, 175-164 BC, with his diademed head and an enthroned deity reverse.
Ancient
Siliqua of Jovian
Small late-Roman silver siliqua of Emperor Jovian (AD 363–364), with his right-facing portrait and a Victory or standing deity reverse.
Ancient
Sestertius of Alexander Severus
Large Roman bronze sestertius of emperor Alexander Severus (222-235 AD), showing his youthful head and a standing figure of Providentia.
Ancient Coins
Roman Denarius
A small hammered silver coin of ancient Rome, showing an emperor's portrait and abbreviated Latin titles on one side and a deity or figure on the other.
Ancient
Denarius of Marcus Aurelius
Roman silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius (c. 170-171 AD): laureate bearded emperor on the obverse, a standing personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Aureus of A. Manlius Vulso
A rare late-Republican Roman gold aureus of the moneyer A. Manlius Vulso, c. 80 BC, showing a capped head and a horseman carrying a military ensign.
Ancient
Denarius of Antoninus Pius
Silver denarius of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD), with his laureate portrait facing right and a legend-and-figure reverse.
Ancient
Tymf
A debased Polish silver coin of 1663 tariffed at 30 groszy, famous for a Latin motto declaring the state's safety worth more than the metal.
Early Modern
1 Pengő
Wartime Hungarian one pengő struck in lightweight aluminum, with an ornamental laurel-wreath design on one side and the value with the 1944 date on the other.
Modern
Joachimsthaler (Thaler)
A large early-16th-century Bohemian silver thaler from Joachimsthal, dated 1525; the coin whose name gave rise to the words 'thaler' and 'dollar'.
Early Modern
8 Escudos (Carolus)
The largest Spanish gold coin of the age, the 8 Escudos or doubloon, struck under the Habsburg Carolus rulers with the crowned quartered royal arms.
Early Modern
Prussian Taler
A large silver taler of the Kingdom of Prussia showing the crowned profile of Frederick II and a heraldic coat of arms, struck through the mid-to-late 1700s.
German States
Erstein Notgeld 50 Pfennigs
A 1917 German emergency-money token for 50 Pfennigs from Erstein in Alsace, with the town coat of arms on the obverse and a large 50 on the reverse.
Token/notgeld
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation
British North Borneo Half Cent
An 1885 copper half cent of British North Borneo: a bust in a laurel wreath on the obverse and the company arms with a heraldic supporter on the reverse.
Colonial
Pakistan 5 Rupees
A brass Pakistani five-rupee coin with a large numeral 5 set in an ornamental frame and Islamic-style Urdu calligraphy around both faces.
South Asia
Flowing Hair Stella
An 1879 U.S. $4 gold pattern coin with a flowing-hair Liberty obverse and a large-star "ONE STELLA" reverse; famous rarity, never circulated.
Stella
Australian Crown
Australia's only crown (five-shilling) coin, a large sterling-silver piece struck in 1937 and 1938 with a George VI portrait and a crown reverse.
Australian
British Farthing
Small copper farthing of King George II, with his laureate bust facing left and a seated Britannia on the reverse; struck in the 1730s.
British Isles
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian