Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Travancore One Cash
A tiny copper coin of the princely state of Travancore, carrying the state's conch-shell emblem on one side and its cash value in local script on the other.
Princely & Presidency States
Philippines 20 Centavos
A small wartime silver 20 centavos of the Commonwealth-era Philippines: a standing Liberty figure and Mayon volcano, with an eagle over a shield on the reverse.
Southeast Asia
Charles II Twopence
A small milled twopence of Charles II, showing the king's profile bust on the obverse and a crowned mark of value on the reverse.
Milled
Hessen-Homburg Kreuzer
A small silver 1 Kreuzer of the Landgraviate of Hessen-Homburg, with a crowned arms shield and a dated 1 KREUZER value in a laurel wreath.
German States
Papua New Guinea 5 Kina
Papua New Guinea's 1975 five-kina coin: Queen Elizabeth II in profile on the obverse, a bird-of-paradise with the K5 denomination on the reverse.
Circulation
Gibraltar Crown
A 1982 Gibraltar cupro-nickel crown marking the christening of Prince William, showing the Queen Mother and Princess Diana with the infant prince.
Commemorative
Gambia 20 Dalasis (Mungo Park Commemorative)
A 1994 silver 20 dalasis crown from The Gambia honoring Scottish explorer Mungo Park, shown with a sailing ship on the reverse.
World
Edward V Angel
Gold angel struck in the brief 1483 reign of Edward V, showing Saint Michael the archangel spearing a demon, with a royal shield of arms on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
French 40 Francs Gold (Napoleon I)
A large early French gold coin showing Napoleon Bonaparte's left-facing profile and a wreathed reverse, struck in the opening years of his rule.
Bullion/gold
Eighth Thistle Merk
A small hammered silver Scottish coin of James VI, showing a crowned heraldic shield of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Antoninianus
Roman imperial coin of the crisis era, marked by a radiate (spiked) crown on the emperor's head; struck in debased silver-and-copper billon, c. 250-270 AD.
Ancient Coins
Philippines 50 Centavos
A 1960s Philippine 50-centavos coin in copper-nickel, its obverse showing an allegorical woman with a torch and its reverse the national coat of arms.
Southeast Asia
New Zealand Waitangi Crown
New Zealand's first and rarest crown, a 1935 silver five-shilling piece with a crowned George V obverse and the Treaty of Waitangi handshake reverse.
New Zealand
Burma One Kyat (Mindon Min)
Silver kyat of King Mindon Min's Burma, showing the royal peacock with spread tail on the obverse and the denomination within a wreath on the reverse.
Southeast Asia
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
Yuan Shikai Dollar
A silver one-yuan dollar of the early Chinese Republic bearing the left-facing bust of Yuan Shikai, nicknamed the "Fatman Dollar" by collectors.
Circulation
Kopek (Peter I)
An early copper kopek of Peter the Great, showing a profile of Peter I and Cyrillic legends on one side and the Russian double-headed eagle on the other.
Early Modern
East India Company Half Anna
Large copper Half Anna of the East India Company, dated 1835, with laurel-wreath legend and the Company's heraldic lion-and-shield arms.
British India
5 Kopecks (Catherine II)
Large copper 5 Kopecks of Catherine the Great, dated 1790 with the EM mint mark, showing a crowned monogram and the imperial double-headed eagle.
Early Modern
Ghana 20 Pesewas
A one-year 1967 Ghanaian coin bearing a national eagle and the motto FREEDOM AND JUSTICE, with the country's coat-of-arms shield on the reverse.
World
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
Edward III Quarter Noble
Small medieval English gold coin of Edward III, showing a crowned shield of arms on the obverse and an ornate floral cross design on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
U.S. Constitution Bicentennial Silver Dollar
A 1987 U.S. Mint 90% silver commemorative dollar marking the 200th anniversary of the Constitution, with a quill-pen obverse.
Modern Commemorative
50 Öre (Silver)
A small Swedish silver 50 ore of the Oscar II era, dated 1898, with the value and date in a laurel wreath on one side and the crowned Swedish arms on the other.
Modern