Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Rhodes Rose and Helios Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the island of Rhodes, pairing a radiant frontal head of the sun god Helios with the island's punning emblem, a rose.
Ancient
Egyptian Qirsh (Muhammad Ali Era)
Silver-billon piastre struck in Egypt under Muhammad Ali Pasha in the name of the Ottoman Sultan, reflecting Egypt's growing autonomy within the empire.
Africa & Oceania
Moroccan Rial (Alawi Dynasty Coinage)
Silver rial coinage struck by Morocco's Alawi sultans in the pre-colonial era, following Islamic coinage tradition with Arabic legends and no ruler portrait.
Africa & Oceania
South African Sixpence (Union)
Small silver sixpence of the Union of South Africa, known for its protea flower reverse, circulated from the 1920s through the transition to decimal currency.
Africa & Oceania
Bremen Thaler
A silver thaler of the free Hanseatic city of Bremen, typically featuring the city's key emblem, issued for centuries as an independent trading city's own coinage.
European
Metapontum Barley Ear Stater
A silver stater from the Greek colony of Metapontum in southern Italy, celebrated for its elegant ear-of-barley design symbolizing the city's agricultural wealth.
Ancient
Athenian Owl Tetradrachm
Classical Athenian silver coin depicting Athena and her sacred owl, one of the most recognizable and widely circulated coinages of the ancient Mediterranean world.
Ancient
Vespasian Denarius
The silver coin of Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, notably including the famous 'Judaea Capta' series commemorating Rome's suppression of the Jewish revolt.
Ancient
Septimius Severus Denarius
Silver denarius of Septimius Severus, African-born founder of the Severan dynasty, who rose to power through the civil wars following Commodus's death.
Ancient
Larissa Nymph Facing Drachm
A celebrated Thessalian silver drachm showing the facing head of the nymph Larissa, considered one of the finest facing-portrait achievements in Greek coin art.
Ancient
Velia (Elea) Lion and Nymph Nomos
A classic South Italian silver nomos pairing a finely helmeted head of Athena with a striding or attacking lion, from the philosophically famous city of Velia.
Ancient
Messana Hare and Biga Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Messana in Sicily, famous for its obverse mule-cart (biga) driven by a charioteer crowned by Nike, paired with a running hare on the reverse.
Ancient
Selinus (Selinunte) River God Tetradrachm
Silver coinage of the Sicilian city of Selinus, notable for depicting the local river god sacrificing at an altar, along with the celery leaf that puns on the city's name.
Ancient
Katane (Catania) Apollo Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Katane in Sicily, admired for its finely engraved Apollo portrait and dynamic quadriga scene, sometimes signed by celebrated die engravers.
Ancient
Spanish 8 Reales (Piece of Eight)
The legendary 'piece of eight,' Spain's silver dollar-sized coin that became the world's first truly global currency and the direct ancestor of the U.S. dollar.
World
Netherlands East Indies VOC Duit
Copper coin struck by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) for circulation in its Asian trading territories, a common relic of 18th-century colonial commerce.
Asian
Dutch Lion Daalder (Leeuwendaalder)
A silver trade coin of the Dutch Republic showing an armored knight and a rampant lion, exported in vast quantities to the Levant, Russia, and the American colonies.
European
Sun Yat-sen 'Memento' 1 Dollar (1927)
Silver dollar bearing the portrait of Sun Yat-sen, struck to commemorate the founding of the Republic of China and widely circulated under the Nationalist government.
Asian
Augustus Denarius
The main silver coin of Rome's first emperor, Augustus, whose long reign established the imperial monetary system that would last for centuries.
Ancient
Herakleia Herakles Nomos
A South Italian silver nomos from Herakleia showing Athena on the obverse and the city's namesake hero Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion on the reverse.
Ancient
Hadrian Travel Series Denarius
A celebrated series of silver denarii issued late in Hadrian's reign, personifying the many provinces he famously toured throughout the Roman Empire.
Ancient
Abdera Griffin Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the Thracian city of Abdera, featuring the mythical griffin inherited from its mother-city Teos, with magistrates' names on the reverse.
Ancient
Akragas (Agrigentum) Eagle and Crab Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the wealthy Sicilian city of Akragas, pairing an eagle, symbol of Zeus, with a river crab representing the city's local waterways.
Ancient
Lysimachos Tetradrachm (Alexander/Athena)
A silver tetradrachm struck by King Lysimachos, one of Alexander the Great's successors, showing the deified Alexander with a ram's horn and a seated Athena on the reverse.
Ancient