Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Keicho Oban
A large, thin oval Japanese gold oban of the Keicho era, hammer-marked with horizontal striations and bearing brush-inked ink signatures and paulownia crests.
Historic
Imperial Chervonets
A small imperial Russian gold chervonets bearing the right-facing bust of Peter III with regalia and the crowned double-headed eagle, dated 1762.
Early Modern
1 Riksdaler Specie
Large silver Riksdaler Specie of Sweden under King Oscar I, dated 1845, bearing his right-facing portrait, royal motto, and the Swedish coat of arms.
Modern
2 Koruny
A circulating Czech Republic coin introduced in 1993, known by its eleven-sided shape, the Czech heraldic lion, and a Great Moravian jewel motif beside 2 Kč.
Modern
5 Roubles (Alexander III)
An Imperial Russian gold 5 Roubles of Alexander III, showing the tsar's bearded profile and the crowned double-headed eagle, struck in the late 1880s.
Modern
25 Pesetas (Franco)
Spain's common Franco-era 25 pesetas, a silvery copper-nickel coin bearing the national coat of arms and the value 25; dated 1957 but struck into the 1970s.
Modern
Austrian Award Medal
A silver Austrian award medal with a crowned double-headed eagle bearing a coat of arms on the obverse and a decorative heraldic shield on the reverse.
Medal
British Decimal Half Penny
The smallest UK decimal coin, a tiny bronze half-penny introduced with decimalisation in 1971, bearing a crown reverse and the Machin portrait of Elizabeth II.
British Isles
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
Gold Mohur of Shah Jahan
High-purity gold mohur struck under Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658), bearing Persian imperial titles; this example carries the Balkh mint mark.
Mughal India
Qianlong Tongbao (An Nam)
A bronze round cash coin with a square center hole bearing the four characters Qianlong Tongbao, cast in An Nam (Vietnam) in the imitative Chinese style.
Cash Coin
Spanish Colonial Cob 8 Reales
A hand-struck silver cob 8 reales of Spain's American colonies—the irregular, hammered “piece of eight” bearing the crowned Habsburg arms and Pillars of Hercules.
Cob Coinage
Ottoman Silver Coin
A silver coin of the Ottoman Empire bearing the sultan's tughra monogram amid floral ornament, with Arabic-script inscriptions on the reverse.
World
Bahawalpur Gold Coin
A gold coin or medallic piece linked to the princely state of Bahawalpur, its obverse bearing a uniformed royal portrait and its reverse an ornate coat of arms.
South Asia
Ilkhanid Dirham of Ghazan
A silver dirham of the Mongol Ilkhanate struck for Ghazan Khan, with an ornamental cartouche bearing the ruler's name and concentric Arabic and Persian inscriptions.
Islamic (Medieval)
Indonesia 1000 Rupiah
A 2010 Indonesian 1000-rupiah circulation coin, its obverse bearing the Garuda Pancasila emblem and Bank Indonesia legend, its reverse a traditional monument design.
Southeast Asia
Sestertius of Hadrian
Large Roman bronze sestertius of Emperor Hadrian, showing his bearded curly-haired profile and a standing draped figure with a Latin legend on the reverse.
Ancient Coins
Gold Toman of Ahmad Shah Qajar
A Qajar-era gold toman bearing the portrait bust and tall headdress of Ahmad Shah, with Persian legends, date and mint, and a wreathed calligraphic reverse.
Persia / Iran
Dirham of Hasan ibn Zayd
A 9th-century Islamic silver dirham struck for Hasan ibn Zayd, the Alid ruler of Tabaristan, bearing concentric Arabic religious and authority legends.
Islamic (Medieval)
Ambedkar Centenary One Rupee
A 1990 Indian one-rupee commemorative honoring the birth centenary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, its obverse bearing his bespectacled portrait and bilingual legend.
Modern India
Guangxu Yuanbao 50 Cents
A Qing-dynasty silver half-dollar bearing the legend Guangxu Yuanbao and a coiled dragon, struck by Chinese provincial mints during the Guangxu Emperor's reign.
Circulation
Copper Fals of Muzaffar Hajji
A worn medieval Islamic copper fals bearing Arabic calligraphy and the name of the ruler al-Muzaffar Hajji, an aniconic base-metal coin used as everyday small change.
Islamic (Medieval)
Capped Bust Eagle
The first United States gold ten-dollar coin, struck 1795–1804 with a capped Liberty bust and, in later years, a heraldic eagle bearing a shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy XII
Silver tetradrachm struck under Ptolemy XII of Egypt, father of Cleopatra VII, bearing a diademed royal Ptolemaic head and the dynasty's eagle-on-thunderbolt reverse.
Ancient