Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
English Shilling
English silver shilling of William III, showing his right-facing laureate bust and a crowned cruciform-shield reverse; this example is dated 1692.
World Coin
Austrian 4-fold Ducat
A large Austrian gold 4 Ducat dated 1915, showing Emperor Franz Joseph I in uniform and the crowned double-headed imperial eagle.
Bullion/gold
New Zealand Threepence
New Zealand's small silver threepence; this 1933 example carries the crowned bust of King George V with GEORGIVS V and his royal titles.
New Zealand
Philip and Mary Shilling
Hammered silver shilling of Philip II of Spain and Mary I (1554-1558), showing their paired royal busts and a crowned quartered shield of arms.
Hammered
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
Dutch East Indies Duit
Small copper duit of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), showing the interlaced VOC monogram and a crowned provincial coat of arms, dated 1735.
Southeast Asia
1 Pahlavi Gold Coin
A gold coin of Pahlavi-era Iran, with Persian text and a crowned royal emblem on one side and the Lion and Sun within laurel wreaths on the other.
Persia / Iran
Hong Kong 20 Cents
A small British Hong Kong silver 20 Cents of Edward VII, with the crowned royal profile on one side and a Chinese dragon and value on the other.
Circulation
Spanish Doubloon (8 Escudos)
Large Spanish gold coin worth eight escudos, showing the right-facing bust of King Charles IV and a crowned Spanish shield with a cross.
World Coins
Edward IV Quarter Ryal
Small English medieval gold coin of Edward IV, bearing the crowned royal arms and an ornate radiate cross with a rose-on-sun at its center.
Medieval Coins
Edward III Half Noble
Medieval English gold coin worth half a noble, this example showing King Edward III crowned with heraldic devices and a shielded, ornamented reverse.
Medieval Coins
Netherlands East Indies 2 Cent
A wartime 1945 bronze 2-cent coin of the Dutch colony of the Netherlands East Indies, showing the crowned Netherlands shield and an ornate colonial reverse.
Southeast Asia
Charles I Sixpence
A hammered Stuart silver sixpence of Charles I, showing his crowned profile bust and a shield of arms, struck during the troubled decade of the English Civil War.
Hammered
Irish Gun Money Shilling
A base-metal Irish emergency shilling struck for James II in 1689-1690, with his laureate bust and a crowned reverse dated by month, here October 1689.
Emergency Coinage
Half Sovereign
A small British 22-carat gold coin worth ten shillings; this example shows Queen Victoria's veiled, crowned Jubilee Head portrait and is dated 1887.
World Coins
Belgian Congo 5 Francs (Copper)
A copper 5 Francs piece dated 1887 with a radiant star obverse and a crowned heraldic reverse reading CONGO BELGE, widely regarded as a fantasy or novelty type.
World
Palestine 2 Mils
A small bronze coin of British Mandate Palestine, inscribed PALESTINE in English, Arabic and Hebrew, with an olive sprig above the TWO MILS value.
World
2 Rigsdaler (Gold)
A gold striking of Denmark's 1863 2 rigsdaler, with the right-facing bust of Christian IX and the crowned royal arms — a rare early piece of his reign.
European
12 Roubles (Nicholas I)
A rare Imperial Russian platinum 12 Roubles of Nicholas I, showing the crowned double-headed eagle and a Cyrillic '12 РУБЛЕЙ' value in Ural platinum.
Modern
20 Drachmai
Greece's 1884 gold 20 Drachmai of King George I: a small Latin Monetary Union gold coin with the king's portrait and the crowned royal arms.
Modern
Spanish Colonial 2 Reales (Milled)
A small milled silver coin of the Spanish Empire, struck in colonial American mints; this example is dated 1776 and shows heraldic lions, castles and a crowned shield.
Colonial
Gold Sovereign
The British gold sovereign: a one-pound gold coin. This 1817 George III example shows a laureate bust and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms.
World
Gold Guinea
English gold coin of the Guinea denomination; the example shown bears the right-facing bust of Charles II with a crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1668.
World Coins
East Africa Protectorate 1 Cent
A small holed one-cent coin of the British East Africa Protectorate, struck in base metal with a crowned, portrait-free design around a central hole.
World