Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Samanid Dirham
A hand-struck silver dirham of the Samanid dynasty, covered on both sides in Arabic Kufic script naming God, the caliph and the mint — no images at all.
Islamic (Medieval)
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
Egyptian 10 Piastres
A modern Egyptian 10 piastres in cupro-nickel, its face carrying Arabic script framed by geometric ornament and diamond-shaped decorative patterns.
World
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
Antiochos III Tetradrachm
A large Seleucid silver coin of Antiochos III the Great, showing his diademed head and a seated deity holding shield and spear.
Ancient
Atilia Denarius
Roman Republican silver denarius struck by a moneyer of the gens Atilia, with a helmeted head on the obverse and a deity or figure with the family name on the reverse.
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
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
Australian Crown
Australia's only crown (five-shilling) coin, a large sterling-silver piece struck in 1937 and 1938 with a George VI portrait and a crown reverse.
Australian
25 Gulden
The gold 25 Gulden of the Free City of Danzig, dated 1923, pairing the lion-supported Danzig arms with an armed female figure holding a trident.
Modern
Württemberg Kreuzer
A small silver 1 Kreuzer of the Duchy of Württemberg, dated 1690, with a heraldic coat of arms and a crowned shield over scrollwork.
German States
Laurel
A hammered English gold coin of James I worth twenty shillings, named for the king's laurel-wreathed profile, struck 1619-1625.
Hammered
Edward III Half Noble
Medieval English gold coin worth half a noble, this example showing King Edward III crowned with heraldic devices and a shielded, ornamented reverse.
Medieval Coins
Travancore One Cash
A tiny copper coin of the princely state of Travancore, carrying the state's conch-shell emblem on one side and its cash value in local script on the other.
Princely & Presidency States
Gallic Imitation Stater
A gold stater struck by the tribes of Gaul, whose stylized head and single horse descend from Greek Macedonian prototypes reworked into abstract Celtic art.
Ancient
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
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
Banda Singh Bahadur Sikh Rupee
A hand-struck silver rupee of the early Sikh Khalsa, issued in the name of the Sikh Gurus during Banda Singh Bahadur's short-lived sovereignty, dated Khalsa Era Year 2.
Asian
Koban with Dutch East Indies Counterstamp
An Edo-period Japanese gold koban bearing later punched marks, including a Japanese character cartouche and a Dutch coat-of-arms counterstamp.
Colonial
Philip III Gold Stater
A Macedonian gold stater struck under Philip III Arrhidaeus, half-brother of Alexander the Great, showing Heracles and an enthroned Zeus.
Ancient
Alexander the Great Gold Stater
Gold stater struck in the name of Alexander the Great, with a helmeted Athena obverse and Nike holding a wreath on the reverse; this example c. 323-315 BC.
Ancient
Edward IV Half Groat
Hammered silver half groat (twopence) of Edward IV, with a crowned royal bust and a long-cross reverse, struck at English mints between 1461 and 1483.
Medieval Coins