Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Roman As
A base-metal As of ancient Rome, showing the double-faced head of Janus on one side and a chariot with ROMA on the other.
Ancient
Half Thistle Merk
A hammered Scottish silver half merk of James VI, showing a crowned coat of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Charles II Five Guineas
The largest English gold coin of Charles II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a cruciform arrangement of crowned shields on the reverse.
Milled
Edward I Penny
Hammered silver penny of Edward I, showing a crowned facing bust on the obverse and a long voided cross with pellets in the quadrants on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
Roman Follis (AE3)
A small late Roman bronze follis of the Constantine I era (AD 320-330), with an emperor's profile obverse and a Victory or vota-in-wreath commemorative reverse.
Ancient
20 Fillér
An early 20th-century Hungarian 20 fillér, a small base-metal coin showing the crowned Hungarian coat of arms and the FILLÉR minor denomination.
Modern
Joachimsthaler (Thaler)
A large early-16th-century Bohemian silver thaler from Joachimsthal, dated 1525; the coin whose name gave rise to the words 'thaler' and 'dollar'.
Early Modern
Corinthian Drachm
A silver drachm of ancient Corinth pairing a helmeted head of Athena with the city's emblem, the winged horse Pegasus, struck in the mid-4th century BC.
Ancient
Edward III Half Groat
Hammered silver English half groat of Edward III showing a crowned facing bust and a long voided cross with pellets on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
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
Half Laurel
Hammered English gold ten-shilling piece of James I, named for the king's laureate portrait; the half of the full Laurel denomination.
Hammered
American Platinum Eagle
The United States' official platinum bullion coin, struck in .9995 fine platinum with a Statue of Liberty obverse; this is the 1998 one-tenth-ounce $10 issue.
Bullion
Barbados 10 Cents
A small copper-nickel Barbadian 10-cent coin showing the national coat of arms on one side and the value and country name on the other.
Circulation
Ceylon 5 Rupees
A 1957 Ceylon silver 5 Rupees marking 2500 years of Buddhism, with a large 2500 on one side and RUPEES CEYLON with the 1957 date on the other.
Commemorative
Syracuse Dekadrachm
Large silver dekadrachm of Syracuse, c. 405-380 BC, showing a racing quadriga crowned by Victory and a head of the nymph Arethusa with flowing hair.
Ancient
Liberia 20 Dollars
A modern Liberian 20-dollar commemorative coin dated 2001, pairing the national arms with a saint and ecclesiastical architecture on the reverse.
World
5 Aurar
Icelandic bronze 5 aurar of the Kingdom era, marked ÍSLAND with a crowned KONUNGDÓMUR ÍSLANDS reverse, struck 1926-1942.
World
Edward IV Ryal
English medieval gold coin of Edward IV showing the king armored in a ship with a shield, and a radiant rose-on-sun design on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
Restoration Anniversary Peso
A silver Dominican one-peso commemorative dated 1963, marking the centennial of the Restoration, with a Liberty head obverse and the national arms.
Commemorative
Aurangzeb Rupee
A broad, hand-struck silver rupee of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (Alamgir), carrying a Persian couplet and mint-and-year data rather than the usual Islamic creed.
Asian
Pakistan One Rupee
An early coin of newly independent Pakistan, dated 1948, with the GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN legend framing an ornate Islamic geometric and floral design.
South Asia
Bhutan 10 Sengtrum
A 1979 cupro-nickel minor coin of the Kingdom of Bhutan, worth one-tenth of a ngultrum, with the national arms on one face and an ornamental gateway on the other.
Himalayan
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
Canadian 50 Cents
Canada's mid-century silver 50-cent piece bearing King George VI, struck in 80% silver with the Canadian coat of arms.
World Coins