Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Counterstamped 8 Reales
A Charles IV silver 8 reales later punched with counterstamps and pierced with a central hole, layering a second life onto the classic Spanish dollar.
Colonial
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin
Barbados 25 Cents
A copper-nickel Caribbean circulation coin of Barbados; the 1998 example shows the national coat of arms on the obverse and the 25-cent value on the reverse.
Circulation
Macao 20 Patacas
A silver 20 patacas of Portuguese-administered Macau: the Portuguese coat of arms on one face and a harbor scene with a Chinese junk on the other.
Circulation
Guangdong 20 Cents
A silver 20-cent coin of Kwangtung (Guangdong) province, struck under the Guangxu Emperor with a coiled dragon on one side and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
Israel 10 Sheqalim Hanukka Commemorative
A silver Bank of Israel commemorative from the annual Hanukka series, showing a historic Hanukka lamp with stars, dated 1983 and valued at 10 Sheqalim.
World
20 Francs (Leopold II)
Belgium's gold 20 francs under King Leopold II, a small Latin Monetary Union coin with the bearded king's profile and the crowned national arms.
Modern
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
Oaxaca 20 Centavos
A copper 20 centavos struck by revolutionary-era Oaxaca in 1915, showing a profiled bust on a round base and a large numeral 20 with the Mexican eagle.
Revolutionary
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
Medal of Honor Commemorative Half Eagle
US 2011 gold $5 commemorative honoring the Medal of Honor, showing the Army version of the medal above a Corinthian column.
Commemoratives
Sierra Leone 20 Cents
A 1964 Sierra Leone 20 cents from the country's first decimal coinage, showing a portrait profile on one side and the national coat of arms with its lion on the other.
World
Aratame Sanbu Sadame
A round silver-colored coin with a coiled dragon and the inscription Aratame Sanbu Sadame on one face and a radiating sun on the other, dated 1859.
Historic
Nemausus As/Dupondius (Crocodile Type)
The famous crocodile of Nimes: a large Roman provincial bronze with paired heads of Agrippa and Augustus and a crocodile chained to a palm.
Ancient
Swedish Gold Commemorative
An early-20th-century Swedish gold coin showing a right-facing royal profile with the legend SVERIGES KONUNG and the fatherland motto.
Commemorative
Pakistan 5 Rupees
A brass Pakistani five-rupee coin with a large numeral 5 set in an ornamental frame and Islamic-style Urdu calligraphy around both faces.
South Asia
Silver Dirham (LACMA M.2002.1.437)
A thin, broad 8th-century Islamic silver dirham covered in Kufic Arabic inscriptions, with no portrait or image — only religious legends and decorative flourishes.
Islamic (Medieval)
Bangladesh 5 Taka
A modern Bangladeshi circulation coin worth five Taka, struck in nickel-plated steel, with the national emblem on the obverse and the value in Bengali on the reverse.
South Asia
Vienna Philharmonic (Gold)
Austria's flagship gold bullion coin, struck in 99.99% fine gold by the Austrian Mint and themed around the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
Bullion
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
Israel 100 Sheqalim Hanukka Commemorative
A 1985 Israeli silver commemorative for the festival of Hanukka, its obverse dominated by a menorah and festive lamp motif.
World
Guangxu Yuanbao 20 Cents
A machine-struck Qing silver 20 cents of the Guangxu era, with a coiled dragon on one face and a yin-yang (taiji) symbol on the other.
Circulation
Egyptian 20 Piastres Commemorative
A cupro-nickel Egyptian 20 piastres commemorative dated 1980, with an ornate Arabic calligraphic obverse and a heraldic double-headed eagle reverse.
World