Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
20 Lei
Romania's first gold coin, the 1870 20 Lei of Prince Carol I, pairing his left-facing portrait with the national coat of arms.
Modern
Liberty Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1840–1907, with a coronet-crowned Liberty head obverse and a shield-breasted eagle reverse marked "2½ D."
Quarter Eagle
Keicho Koban
A thin oval Japanese gold coin worth one ryo, its surface covered in fine parallel striations with stamped cartouches and Goto mint marks.
Historic
Brutus Aureus
The gold aureus of Marcus Junius Brutus, struck 42 BC, whose reverse celebrates Caesar's assassination with EID MAR, a cap of liberty, and two daggers.
Ancient
Indian Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin of 1908–1929 with a sunken (incuse) design: an Indian in a feathered war bonnet on the obverse and a standing eagle reverse.
Quarter Eagle
Aureus of Constantine I the Great
A Roman gold aureus struck for Constantine I the Great, showing his laureate portrait, from the era of his rise to sole power around AD 313.
Ancient
Sacagawea Dollar
U.S. golden-colored dollar coin showing Sacagawea and her infant son on the obverse and a soaring eagle on the reverse, struck 2000–2008.
Dollar
2 Escudos
A gold 2 Escudos of Habsburg Spain, the classic 'doubloon,' struck with a crowned coat of arms of castles and lions on both faces.
Early Modern
Venetian Ducat
A medieval gold ducat of the Republic of Venice, showing Saint Mark presenting a banner to the kneeling Doge on one side and Christ on the other.
Medieval
Flowing Hair Stella
An 1879 U.S. $4 gold pattern coin with a flowing-hair Liberty obverse and a large-star "ONE STELLA" reverse; famous rarity, never circulated.
Stella
Sixpence of James I
A hammered silver sixpence of James I of England: crowned profile bust with VI value mark, and a dated garnished shield over a cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Medieval Silver Cut Farthing
A quarter of a medieval silver penny, physically cut along the reverse cross to make small change before round farthings became common.
British Isles
Mary I Groat
Hammered silver fourpence of Mary I (1553-1558), with her crowned bust left and the royal arms over a cross on the reverse.
Hammered
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
Halfpenny of Henry VIII
A tiny hand-struck Tudor silver halfpenny of Henry VIII, showing a crowned facing bust on the obverse and a long cross over a shield of arms on the reverse.
Hammered
Half Groat of Henry VIII
A small hammered English silver coin worth twopence, struck across the reign of Henry VIII and bearing his crowned facing bust.
Hammered
Edward VI Crown
Hammered English silver crown of Edward VI (1547-1553), the first English crown coin and among the earliest English coins to carry a date.
Hammered
Penny of Cnut
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of King Cnut (Canute), showing a diademed bust facing left with a cross-and-pellets reverse, struck c.1024-1030.
Medieval Coins
Anglo-Saxon Styca
A tiny base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, struck in the 8th-9th century with a head and inscription on one side and a cross on the other.
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
Charles I Half Crown
A large hammered silver half crown of Charles I, showing the king in portrait facing left and a crowned royal shield 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
Penny of William I
Hammered silver penny of William the Conqueror, the example showing a profile portrait of the king and a decorated cross reverse, struck circa 1075.
Medieval Coins