Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Sarawak One Cent
A large copper cent of the Brooke Rajahs of Sarawak, showing the Rajah's portrait on the obverse and SARAWAK ONE CENT with a wreath and the year 1870.
Colonial
India 10 Rupees
A silver-era Indian coin carrying the profile of King George VI, struck during the final years of British India and the transition to the Republic.
Circulation
Kenya 20 Shillings
A modern bimetallic Kenyan circulation coin showing a president's portrait on the obverse and the national coat of arms on the reverse.
World
Canadian Five Cents (Nickel)
Canada's five-cent 'nickel,' with G.E. Kruger Gray's beaver reverse. This 1987 example pairs the beaver with an Elizabeth II portrait.
Canadian & Provincial
American Palladium Eagle
The U.S. Mint's one-ounce .9995 fine palladium bullion coin, launched in 2017 with classic Weinman Mercury dime and eagle designs.
Bullion
Unidentified Ancient Coin
A worn ancient bronze coin whose exact type is not yet identifiable — a right-facing profile portrait on one side and a faded design on the other.
Ancient
Ecu of Louis XVI
A large French silver ecu of Louis XVI dated 1784: left-facing royal bust obverse, crowned arms of France and Navarre framed by laurel on the reverse.
Royal
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
Irish Gun Money Shilling
A base-metal Irish emergency shilling struck for James II in 1689-1690, with his laureate bust and a crowned reverse dated by month, here October 1689.
Emergency Coinage
Cartwheel Penny
The heavy 1797 copper penny of George III, with a broad raised rim and sunken lettering, struck by steam power at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint.
Milled
Indonesia 200 Rupiah
A lightweight aluminium Indonesian 200-rupiah coin: the Garuda Pancasila emblem on one side and a perched Bali Starling (Jalak Bali) with the value 200 on the other.
Southeast Asia
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
Sestertius of Commodus
A large Roman bronze sestertius of Emperor Commodus (180–192 AD), his laureate bearded head on one side and a standing figure on the other.
Ancient
Kenya 5 Shillings
A modern bimetallic Kenyan coin pairing a President's portrait with the national coat of arms and the bold value 5 shillings.
World
Straits Settlements One Cent
A round bronze one-cent coin of the British Straits Settlements bearing the crowned profile of King George V, dated 1920.
Colonial
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
Standing Liberty Quarter
U.S. 90% silver quarter struck 1916–1930, showing a standing Liberty with shield on the obverse and an eagle in flight on the reverse.
Quarter
Roman Republic Semuncia
Smallest Roman Republican bronze denomination, worth half an uncia, struck around 217-215 BC with a Mercury head and a galley prow.
Ancient
Hanover 1/6 Thaler
A German States silver 1/6 Thaler of Hanover (Brunswick-Luneburg) dated 1688, showing the leaping Saxon Steed and a fractional-denomination reverse.
German States
Louis d'Or Coin Weight
A French bronze monetary weight (poids monétaire) made to check the weight of a gold Louis d'Or, not a coin itself but a money-changer's balance weight.
Coin Weight
Chu State Ant-Nose Coin
A small cast bronze cowrie-shaped coin of the Chu state, bearing a face-like Chinese inscription in relief, nicknamed ant-nose or ghost-face money.
Ancient
Newfoundland One Cent
Bronze large cent of the colony of Newfoundland; the example shown is a 1904 issue with Edward VII's profile and a wreath reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
Tanzania 100 Shillings
A golden brass Tanzanian coin worth 100 shillings, showing a lively scene of running antelope with the Swahili legend SHILINGI MIA MOJA.
World
Silver Dirham of Sultan Qalawun
A hand-struck Mamluk silver dirham of Sultan Qalawun of Egypt, covered on both faces with Arabic calligraphy and struck AD 1279–1290.
Islamic