Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Constantine the Great Follis
A bronze coin of Constantine the Great, the emperor who legalized Christianity and founded Constantinople, struck at numerous mints across a transforming empire.
Ancient
Australian Platinum Koala
Australia's platinum bullion coin from the Perth Mint, first struck in 1988 with a koala design that changes nearly every year.
Bullion
Isle of Man Noble (Platinum)
The world's first modern platinum bullion coin, struck for the Isle of Man government by Pobjoy Mint, featuring a Viking longship reverse.
Bullion
Anglo-Saxon Silver Sceat
Small, thick early Anglo-Saxon silver coin with enigmatic pagan and Christian imagery, the direct forerunner of the later English penny.
British
Ostrogothic Silver Quarter Siliqua
Small silver coin struck by the Ostrogothic kings of Italy in the name of the reigning Byzantine emperor, bearing the Gothic king's monogram on the reverse.
European
French Franc Germinal
Not a single coin but the bimetallic monetary standard fixed by Napoleon's 1803 law, defining the franc's silver and gold content for over a century.
European
French 40 Francs Gold (Napoleon)
An early gold coin of Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul and later Emperor, struck under France's new decimal franc system.
European
French 100 Francs Gold (Angel/Genius)
A large French gold coin of the Third Republic featuring an allegorical winged genius writing the constitution, often called the 'Angel' by collectors.
European
Austrian Gold Philharmonic
Austria's popular gold bullion coin honoring the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring the Musikverein's Great Organ and an array of orchestral instruments.
Bullion
Ottoman 20 Kurus
Ottoman silver coin denominated in kuruş, bearing the sultan's ornate calligraphic tughra rather than a portrait, in keeping with Islamic artistic tradition.
World
Mexican Silver Libertad
Mexico's widely collected silver bullion coin, sharing the Angel of Independence design with the Gold Libertad and issued in a range of weights since 1982.
Bullion
Somalian Silver Elephant (African Wildlife)
An annually redesigned silver bullion coin featuring an African elephant, issued in the name of Somalia but struck at a German state mint since 2004.
Africa & Oceania
Australian Silver Kookaburra
An annually redesigned Australian silver bullion coin issued since 1990, featuring a different depiction of the native kookaburra bird each year.
Bullion
Bolivia 8 Soles Silver
An early Bolivian republican silver coin denominated in soles, struck at Potosí in the decades following independence before the boliviano currency system replaced it.
Latin American
Netherlands East Indies Gulden (Wilhelmina)
Dutch colonial silver gulden struck for the Netherlands East Indies bearing the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina, the standard coin of Dutch-ruled Indonesia.
Asian
Sixpence
A small British silver coin worth half a shilling, affectionately nicknamed the 'tanner,' beloved for its traditional role tucked into Christmas puddings.
British
Delhi Sultanate Silver Tanka
The standard silver coin of the medieval Delhi Sultanate, bearing Arabic inscriptions naming the ruling sultan, and a forerunner of later Indian silver denominations.
Asian
German Bavaria Thaler
A large silver crown-sized coin issued by the Bavarian state, one of many German territorial thalers struck before German unification.
European
German Saxony Ducat
A high-purity gold trade coin struck for centuries by the rulers of Saxony, one of the most important German states before national unification.
European
Austrian Florin (Gulden)
The main silver coin of Austria-Hungary in the second half of the 19th century, used until the krone replaced it in the 1892 monetary reform.
European
Danish Speciedaler
Denmark's large silver 'species dollar,' the principal high-value coin of the Danish monetary system before the krone replaced it in 1873–75.
European
Crown of the Double Rose
A gold coin introduced by Henry VIII in 1526 as part of his coinage reform, named for the crowned Tudor double rose on its reverse.
British
Syracuse Dekadrachm (Kimon)
A magnificent silver dekadrachm from ancient Syracuse signed by the master engraver Kimon, prized as one of the finest achievements of Greek coin art.
Ancient
Russian Ruble (Imperial)
The principal silver coin of the Russian Empire, struck for over two centuries and bearing the portraits of successive tsars and the imperial double-headed eagle.
European