Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Barakah Copper Fals
A medieval Islamic copper fals carrying purely Arabic calligraphy, including the pious word barakah (“blessing”), with no portrait or figural image.
Islamic (Medieval)
Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1924 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 300 years of Huguenot and Walloon settlement in America, with two settler profiles and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
Jefferson Nickel
U.S. five-cent piece introduced in 1938, showing Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and his Monticello home on the reverse. 1942–1945 issues are 35% silver.
Nickel Five Cent
Eisenhower Dollar
Large U.S. dollar coin struck 1971–1978 with Eisenhower's profile and an eagle landing on the Moon, most circulation issues in copper-nickel clad.
Dollar
Scottish Shilling
A historical Scottish silver shilling featuring the thistle, Scotland's national emblem, in a heraldic design on one face and as a growing plant on the other.
World Coin
Ilkhanid Dirham of Ghazan
A silver dirham of the Mongol Ilkhanate struck for Ghazan Khan, with an ornamental cartouche bearing the ruler's name and concentric Arabic and Persian inscriptions.
Islamic (Medieval)
Benjamin Franklin Founding Father Commemorative Silver Dollar
A 2006 U.S. commemorative silver dollar honoring Benjamin Franklin, showing him flying his kite in the electricity experiment, with a 'MIND YOUR BUSINESS' reverse.
Dollar
Islamic Gold Dinar (LACMA M.2006.143.8)
A medieval Islamic gold dinar in the LACMA collection, struck with purely calligraphic Arabic legends and a decorative border — the classic imageless coin of the caliphates.
Islamic (Medieval)
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
Quincunx of Capua
Bronze quincunx (5 unciae) struck by Capua in Campania in the 3rd century BC, pairing a diademed female head with a lion or griffin and five value pellets.
Ancient
10 Lepta (Phoenix)
A copper 10 lepta of the first independent Greek state, dated 1828, showing the Phoenix rising from flames beneath a cross against the value within an oak wreath.
Modern
Bourgondische Rijksdaalder
A large silver rijksdaalder of the Habsburg Netherlands showing Philip II in helmeted armor, with a compartmented heraldic shield and the Golden Fleece collar.
Early Modern
1 Litas
A 1991 Lithuanian one-litas coin from the first coinage after restored independence, showing the value with a radiating pattern and the Vytis knight of the national arms.
Modern
Schaummünze Gold Thaler
A 17th-century German gold Schaummünze in thaler form, its obverse showing a bearded profile portrait of Anton Ulrich flanked by two standing figures.
Medal
Braunschweig-Lüneburg 3 Thaler
A large silver 3 Thaler of Braunschweig-Lüneburg dated 1685, its obverse showing an allegorical Libertas figure in classical dress against a landscape.
German States
Spanish Colonial 2 Reales (Milled)
A small milled silver coin of the Spanish Empire, struck in colonial American mints; this example is dated 1776 and shows heraldic lions, castles and a crowned shield.
Colonial
Marinid Gold Dinar
Aniconic Islamic gold dinar of the Marinid dynasty of Morocco, its faces filled with Arabic religious inscriptions framed by geometric border bands.
Medieval Islamic
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
Ilkhanid Dirham of Abu Said
A hand-struck Mongol Ilkhanate silver dirham of Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, with the ruler's titles set in a cartouche and religious inscriptions in concentric bands.
Islamic (Medieval)
Abbasi of Shah Sultan Husayn
A hand-struck Safavid silver abbasi of Shah Sultan Husayn, covered entirely in flowing Persian-Arabic calligraphy with jeweled borders and no portrait.
Persia / Iran
Guangxu Yuanbao Dollar
A crown-sized silver dragon dollar of Qing China inscribed 光緒元寶 (Guangxu Yuanbao), with a coiled dragon reverse and a provincial mint inscription; this piece dated 1905.
Circulation
5 Yang
A late-Joseon Korean 5 Yang in bronze: a floral, chrysanthemum-and-taegeuk obverse paired with a coiled dragon and ornamental characters on the reverse.
Historic
Gold Dinar of Malik Shah I
A hand-struck Seljuk gold dinar naming Malik Shah I (r. 1072–1092), covered in Arabic inscriptions with the ruler's titles and genealogy and an ornamental cartouche.
Islamic (Medieval)
Gold Dinar of Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad (Buyid)
A hand-struck gold dinar of the Iranian Buyid dynasty, naming the emir Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad and dated AH 358, covered entirely in Kufic Arabic with no imagery.
Islamic (Medieval)