Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Denarius of Elagabalus
Silver denarius of the young Severan emperor Elagabalus (218–222 AD), with his laureate bust and a standing personified deity on the reverse.
Ancient
English Sixpence
A hammered silver sixpence of James I, showing his crowned profile bust and a quartered royal shield with a long cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Penny of Cynethryth
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of Cynethryth, queen of Mercia and wife of Offa, and the only Anglo-Saxon queen named on her own coinage.
Medieval Coins
Anglo-Saxon Sceatta
Tiny thick silver coin of early Anglo-Saxon England, the example showing a stylized bird with geometric patterns and symbolic reverse designs.
Medieval Coins
Samanid Dirham
A hand-struck silver dirham of the Samanid dynasty, covered on both sides in Arabic Kufic script naming God, the caliph and the mint — no images at all.
Islamic (Medieval)
Aurangzeb Rupee
A broad, hand-struck silver rupee of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (Alamgir), carrying a Persian couplet and mint-and-year data rather than the usual Islamic creed.
Asian
Bank of Upper Canada Half-Penny Token
Copper half-penny token of the Bank of Upper Canada, with St. George slaying the dragon and the bank's crowned heraldic arms, dated 1857.
Canadian & Provincial
Romania International Year of Chemistry Commemorative
Romanian silver 10 lei commemorative dated 2011, issued for the International Year of Chemistry with molecular, laboratory and scientist imagery.
Commemorative
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
Maundy Money Penny
Tiny silver penny given as royal alms; this James II example (1687) shows a crowned bust and a crowned Roman numeral I reverse.
Maundy
Corinthian Stater
Silver stater of ancient Corinth showing the winged horse Pegasos on one side and the helmeted head of Athena on the other.
Ancient Coins
5 Yang
A late-Joseon Korean 5 Yang in bronze: a floral, chrysanthemum-and-taegeuk obverse paired with a coiled dragon and ornamental characters on the reverse.
Historic
Ancient Greek Didrachm
An ancient Greek silver didrachm worth two drachms, here with a bearded male head and a horse-and-rider reverse in the tradition of Magna Graecia.
Ancient
British Crown
A large George V silver crown of the 1927–1936 'wreath' type, showing the king's profile and a royal crown framed by an ornamental wreath.
British Isles
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
Medieval Coin
A worn hammered silver coin of the medieval era, with faded profile, legends, and a heraldic or emblematic reverse.
Hammered
Abbasi of Shah Sultan Husayn
A hand-struck Safavid silver abbasi of Shah Sultan Husayn, covered entirely in flowing Persian-Arabic calligraphy with jeweled borders and no portrait.
Persia / Iran
Edward IV Half Angel
Medieval English gold coin of King Edward IV, half the value of the angel, showing Saint Michael slaying a dragon with a spear and shield.
Medieval Coins
Tetradrachm of Eretria
A silver tetradrachm attributed to Eretria on Euboea, pairing the head of a female figure with a standing bull and the Greek legend EYBOIA.
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
Roman Quinarius
A small Roman silver quinarius, half the value of a denarius, here with a helmeted head of Roma and a prancing horse on the reverse.
Ancient
Denarius of Trajan
Silver denarius of the emperor Trajan (98–117 AD), showing his laureate bust and, on this piece, Libertas standing with patera and rod.
Ancient
Cnidian Drachm
An archaic hand-struck silver drachm of the Greek city of Cnidus, showing the goddess Aphrodite on one side and an eagle on the other.
Ancient
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation