Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Banda Singh Bahadur Sikh Rupee
A hand-struck silver rupee of the early Sikh Khalsa, issued in the name of the Sikh Gurus during Banda Singh Bahadur's short-lived sovereignty, dated Khalsa Era Year 2.
Asian
Commemorative Follis of Constantinople
Bronze city-commemorative of Constantine's era (330-340 AD): helmeted Constantinopolis on the obverse, a Victory standing on a ship's prow on the reverse.
Ancient
Dirham of Samura ibn Jundab
An Arab-Sassanian silver dirham struck in the name of the early governor Samura ibn Jundab, keeping the Persian Shah bust and fire-altar design with added Arabic.
Islamic (Medieval)
Ancient Hellenistic Tetradrachm
A large Hellenistic silver tetradrachm with a bearded, curly-haired head on the obverse and an eagle standing on a thunderbolt on the reverse.
Ancient
Ancient Sicilian Silver Coin
A silver coin of ancient Greek Sicily, showing a female goddess or nymph head on one face and a two-horse chariot (biga) on the other.
Ancient
Silver Dirham of Salm ibn Ziyad
An Arab-Sasanian silver dirham struck for the Umayyad governor Salm ibn Ziyad, with a Sasanian-style bust and fire-altar reverse plus Arabic marginal inscriptions.
Islamic (Medieval)
Roman Victoriatus
Silver Roman Republican victoriatus of the late 3rd–2nd century BC, with the laureate head of Jupiter and a Victory crowning a trophy above ROMA.
Ancient
Glycon Bronze Coin
Roman provincial bronze of the 2nd century AD showing the snake-god Glycon: a bearded serpent head on one side and a coiled snake on the other.
Ancient
Ceylon 5 Rupees Buddhism Anniversary
Ceylon's 1957 silver five rupees marking 2,500 years of Buddhism, with an ornate 2500 device amid mythological creatures and a scrolled RUPEES reverse.
South Asia
Maundy Three Pence
A tiny sterling-silver threepence tied to Britain's Royal Maundy tradition; the photographed 1687 coin shows James II's bust and a crowned Roman numeral III.
Maundy
Half Crown of William IV
A milled British silver half crown of King William IV, with the king's bare head facing right and a crowned royal shield of arms on the reverse.
Milled
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
Spade Guinea
A late George III gold guinea named for the distinctive spade-shaped shield on its reverse, struck in England from 1787 into the early 1800s.
Milled
British Bank Token
Copper token of the late George III period bearing the king's left-facing bust and a quartered royal-arms reverse, dated 1819.
British Isles
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
Penny of William IV
A large copper penny of King William IV, struck in the 1830s, with the king's right-facing head and the Latin legend GULIELMUS IIII D:G.
Milled
Three Graces Pattern Crown
A celebrated 1817 silver pattern crown of George III, engraved by William Wyon and never issued for circulation — a prized masterpiece of British coinage.
Pattern
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
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation
Bank of England Dollar
A George III silver dollar issued by the Bank of England in 1804, struck over Spanish eight-reales coins, with a laureate bust and a crowned shield reverse.
Milled
William IV One Rupee
Silver one-rupee coin of British India struck in 1835 under the East India Company, bearing the right-facing bust of King William IV.
British India
Crown of George IV
A milled silver crown of George IV, with a laureate head facing left and Pistrucci's St George and the dragon on the reverse; the photographed piece is dated 1822.
Milled
Counterfeit Guinea
A base-metal (copper or brass) imitation of a George III gold guinea, struck or cast to deceive, showing a right-facing bust and a heraldic shield reverse.
Counterfeit
Long Cross Penny
Hand-struck medieval English silver penny with a crowned royal bust and a long voided cross reaching the rim, dividing the reverse legend.
Medieval Coins