Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Edward VI Crown
Hammered English silver crown of Edward VI (1547-1553), the first English crown coin and among the earliest English coins to carry a date.
Hammered
Australian Kookaburra
Perth Mint silver bullion coin with a changing kookaburra reverse and a Queen Elizabeth II obverse; this 2 Dollars piece is a 2 oz .999 fine silver coin dated 2012.
Bullion
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
Matapan (Serbian imitation)
A medieval Serbian coin modeled on the Venetian matapan (grosso), showing standing figures on the obverse and a cross on the reverse.
Medieval
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
Almohad Silver Dirham
A distinctive square silver coin of the Almohad Caliphate, covered on both faces with geometric Arabic religious inscriptions.
World
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
Quarter Angel of Elizabeth I
A small Elizabethan gold coin of the early 1580s showing a crowned portrait of the queen and a cross set with heraldic shields.
Hammered
Eisenhower Dollar Bicentennial
U.S. one-dollar coin for the 1976 Bicentennial, with Eisenhower's profile and a special Liberty Bell superimposed on the Moon reverse.
Dollar
Gold Mohur of Akbar
Aniconic gold coin of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), struck in Persian calligraphy in the Ilahi coinage style.
Mughal India
Unite of James I
A hammered gold pound coin of James I, named to celebrate the union of England and Scotland under one crown.
Hammered
French 30 Sols
A silver coin of the early French Revolution showing Louis XVI as constitutional king on one side and a standing Liberty on the other.
Revolutionary
Quarter Merk
A small hammered silver coin of Scotland worth a quarter of a merk, showing a crowned heraldic shield with a cross and a Latin legend.
Hammered
Charles II Half Guinea
A small milled gold coin of Charles II showing the king's laureate profile and a cruciform arrangement of crowned shields on the reverse.
Milled
Egypt 20 Qirsh
The 20 qirsh was Egypt's largest silver coin under the Khedivate, bearing the Ottoman sultan's tughra; this example dates to 1905.
World
Congo 5 Francs
A modern circulation coin of the Democratic Republic of Congo, showing the central bank name and the value 5 Francs with decorative devices.
World
Idrisid Gold Dinar
Gold dinar of Morocco's Idrisid dynasty: a purely epigraphic Islamic coin bearing Kufic Arabic religious legends, no images.
Medieval Islamic
Akçe
The akçe was the tiny silver coin at the heart of the early Ottoman economy, struck with Arabic-script inscriptions and no portrait or figural imagery.
Medieval
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
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
Styca of Eanred
Small base-metal coin of King Eanred of Northumbria, with a cross and legend on one face and a central symbolic motif on the other.
Medieval Coins
Edward IV Angel
Medieval English gold coin showing Saint Michael the Archangel slaying a dragon-demon, with a heraldic cross-and-shield reverse.
Medieval Coins
Tanzania 10 Shillings
A base-metal Tanzanian coin bearing President Julius Nyerere on the obverse and the national coat of arms with the value 10 on the reverse.
World
Guangdong 20 Cents
A silver 20-cent coin of Kwangtung (Guangdong) province, struck under the Guangxu Emperor with a coiled dragon on one side and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation