Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Copper Fals of Barquq
A hand-struck Mamluk copper fals of Sultan Barquq, struck at Damascus (1382–1389 CE), covered entirely in Arabic calligraphy with no figural imagery.
Islamic (Medieval)
Egyptian 1 Pound
An Egyptian cupro-nickel 1 Pound commemorative marking World Food Day 1981, its reverse showing standing figures with wheat sheaves.
World
2.5 Escudos
A copper-nickel 2.5 Escudos of the Portuguese Republic, showing a sailing caravel on the obverse and the national shield with the value 2$50.
Modern
Egyptian 10 Piastres Commemorative
A cupro-nickel Egyptian 10 piastres commemorative dated 1984, showing a domed mosque on one face and Arabic legends throughout.
World
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
5 Escudos
Portugal's copper-nickel 5 Escudos, showing a caravel sailing ship on the obverse and the national shield with the value 5$00 on the reverse.
Modern
5 Krooni
A silver 5 krooni of the Republic of Estonia dated 1993, carrying the national coat of arms with its three heraldic lions.
Modern
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
50 Centimes Semeuse
A small silver French 50 centimes with Roty's striding Semeuse (sower) on the obverse and the value within the national motto on the reverse.
Circulation
Guinea Counter (Imitation)
A brass or bronze gaming counter made to imitate a George III guinea, showing a faint male profile and a shield reverse; a token, not money.
Token
Crown of the Double Rose
A hammered Tudor gold crown of Henry VIII, valued at five shillings and named for the crowned double Tudor rose that defines its design.
Hammered
Wu Zhu Cash
A round Han-dynasty bronze cash coin with a central square hole and two seal-script characters, Wu Zhu, naming its weight of five zhu.
Cash Coin
Shanxi 2 Fen
A holed Republic-era Chinese copper 2 Fen struck for Shanxi Province, dated 1931, with a numeral 2 and Chinese legends around a central hole.
Circulation
2 Centavos
A copper Mexican 2 centavos with a large numeral 2 framed by a laurel wreath on one side and the national eagle with spread wings on the other.
Circulation
Syracuse Tetradrachm
Classical silver tetradrachm of Syracuse in Sicily, showing a racing four-horse chariot on one side and a right-facing nymph's head on the other.
Ancient
Disarmament Commemorative Ruble
A 1988 Soviet copper-nickel commemorative ruble marking the US-Soviet treaty that scrapped intermediate- and shorter-range nuclear missiles.
World Coins
1 Penni
Finland's smallest post-1963 coin: a tiny light base-metal piece with a bold numeral 1 and SUOMI on the front and a geometric line pattern on the back.
World
Joachimsthaler (Thaler)
A large early-16th-century Bohemian silver thaler from Joachimsthal, dated 1525; the coin whose name gave rise to the words 'thaler' and 'dollar'.
Early Modern
Kenya 10 Shillings
A modern bimetallic circulating coin of the Republic of Kenya bearing President Jomo Kenyatta on the obverse and the national coat of arms on the reverse.
World
Barbados 25 Cents
A copper-nickel Caribbean circulation coin of Barbados; the 1998 example shows the national coat of arms on the obverse and the 25-cent value on the reverse.
Circulation
British Honduras One Cent
A colonial copper one cent of British Honduras under Queen Victoria, dated 1889, with the Queen's profile and the value and country name on the reverse.
Colonial
Ghana 20 Pesewas
A one-year 1967 Ghanaian coin bearing a national eagle and the motto FREEDOM AND JUSTICE, with the country's coat-of-arms shield on the reverse.
World
Flowing Hair Stella
An 1879 U.S. $4 gold pattern coin with a flowing-hair Liberty obverse and a large-star "ONE STELLA" reverse; famous rarity, never circulated.
Stella
Kiautschou 5 Cents
A 1909 nickel 5 Cent coin of the German-leased Kiautschou Bay territory in China, pairing Chinese characters with the German imperial eagle.
Colonial