Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Five Guineas of Anne
Queen Anne's largest gold coin, the celebrated 1703 issue struck with VIGO below the bust from gold captured at the Battle of Vigo Bay.
Milled
Gold Toman of Ahmad Shah Qajar
A Qajar-era gold toman bearing the portrait bust and tall headdress of Ahmad Shah, with Persian legends, date and mint, and a wreathed calligraphic reverse.
Persia / Iran
Spanish Doubloon (8 Escudos)
Large Spanish gold coin worth eight escudos, showing the right-facing bust of King Charles IV and a crowned Spanish shield with a cross.
World Coins
Victoria One Rupee
Silver 1-rupee coin of British India bearing Queen Victoria's crowned bust, struck from 1862 to 1901 under Crown rule.
British India
Solidus of Honorius
A late Roman gold solidus of Emperor Honorius (r. 393-423 CE), with his diademed bust and an armored standing figure holding a spear and shield.
Ancient
Denarius of Caracalla
A silver denarius of the Roman emperor Caracalla, struck 198–217 CE, showing his laureate right-facing bust and a Latin legend encircling the design.
Ancient
2 Rigsdaler (Gold)
A gold striking of Denmark's 1863 2 rigsdaler, with the right-facing bust of Christian IX and the crowned royal arms — a rare early piece of his reign.
European
Antoninianus of Claudius II
A billon antoninianus of the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus (268–270 AD), showing his radiate bust on one side and a standing deity on the other.
Ancient
Shilling of James I
Hammered silver shilling of King James I, showing his crowned left-facing bust and a quartered heraldic shield of England, Scotland, Ireland and France.
World Coins
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
Gold Guinea
English gold coin of the Guinea denomination; the example shown bears the right-facing bust of Charles II with a crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1668.
World Coins
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
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
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
East India Company One Mohur
A machine-struck gold mohur of the East India Company bearing the young Queen Victoria, with a left-facing bust and the legend 'VICTORIA QUEEN', dated 1841.
British India
Shilling of George II
A milled silver shilling of George II, with a left-facing bust reading GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA and a crowned cruciform-shields reverse; this one is a 1736 roses and plumes issue.
Milled
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
British Third Farthing
A tiny 1844 Victoria copper coin: young left-facing queen's bust obverse, crowned value reverse. One of Britain's smallest denominations, struck for Malta.
Circulation
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)
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)
Unidentified Silver Coin (Louis XV era)
An 18th-century French royal silver coin of the Louis XV era, showing a right-facing bust and a crowned fleur-de-lis shield; the exact denomination is not confirmed.
Royal
German 20 Mark Gold
German Empire gold 20 mark of Prussia, with Kaiser Wilhelm I's bust and the imperial eagle; a small .900 gold coin from the pre-WWI Goldmark era.
Bullion/gold
40 Francs Napoleon
A large early French gold 40 francs of Napoleon's Consulate, with the bare-headed BONAPARTE PREMIER CONSUL bust and a laurel-framed 40 FRANCS reverse dated 1804.
Bullion
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