Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Spanish Colonial 8 Reales (Milled Bust)
The milled-bust Spanish colonial 8 reales—the classic “piece of eight,” a large silver coin bearing the Spanish king's portrait and royal arms.
Colonial
Netherlands East Indies 2 Cent
A wartime 1945 bronze 2-cent coin of the Dutch colony of the Netherlands East Indies, showing the crowned Netherlands shield and an ornate colonial reverse.
Southeast Asia
Qianlong Tongbao (An Nam)
A bronze round cash coin with a square center hole bearing the four characters Qianlong Tongbao, cast in An Nam (Vietnam) in the imitative Chinese style.
Cash Coin
Half Escudo (800 Reis) of Joao V
A small Portuguese gold coin of King Joao V, valued at half an escudo (800 reis), with his laureate bust and a crowned Portuguese shield.
Colonial
George IV One Eighth Spanish Dollar
Small 1822 British colonial silver coin from the George IV "Anchor Money," a fraction of the Spanish dollar used in the West Indies and Mauritius.
Colonial
George IV One Quarter Spanish Dollar
An 1822 British colonial silver coin valued at one quarter of a Spanish dollar, part of the George IV "Anchor Money" issued for colonies in the Americas.
Colonial
10,000 Soles de Oro
A large Peruvian silver coin of 10,000 soles de oro, its obverse bearing the national coat of arms with the vicuna, cinchona tree and cornucopia.
Circulation
Solidus of Constantine I the Great
Constantine the Great's gold solidus, a high-purity coin struck from about AD 309 that became the standard of late Roman and Byzantine gold.
Ancient
Antoninianus of Valerian II
Roman radiate coin of Valerian II, the young Caesar (c. 253-260 AD), showing his spiked crown and a standing figure on the reverse.
Ancient
Tymf
A debased Polish silver coin of 1663 tariffed at 30 groszy, famous for a Latin motto declaring the state's safety worth more than the metal.
Early Modern
20 Lei
Romania's first gold coin, the 1870 20 Lei of Prince Carol I, pairing his left-facing portrait with the national coat of arms.
Modern
Belize 1 Cent
A small bronze one-cent coin from the Caribbean nation now called Belize, carrying a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and dated 1954.
Circulation
Quarter Farthing
Tiny copper coin of Queen Victoria worth one-sixteenth of a penny, struck for use in Ceylon; the smallest-value British denomination ever made.
British Isles
Victoria Maundy Twopence
A tiny sterling-silver ceremonial coin from a Royal Maundy set. This 1845 example shows Victoria's young head and a crowned 2 in a wreath.
British Isles
Tunisia 1 Millime
Tunisia's smallest post-independence coin, a tiny aluminum-bronze 1 millime of 1960 showing the value 1 framed by laurel and a numeral in profile.
World
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
Lincoln Shield Cent
The current U.S. one-cent coin, struck since 2010, pairing Lincoln's profile with a Union Shield reverse on a copper-plated zinc planchet.
Small Cent
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
Half Guinea of George II
A small British gold coin of the reign of George II, worth half a guinea, with the king's left-facing bust and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
Milled
Styca of Aethelred
Small base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, naming King Aethelred, with a central device and legend on one face and a cross on the other.
Medieval Coins
Somalia Silver Leopard
One-ounce fine-silver bullion coin from Somalia's African Wildlife series, showing a prowling leopard on the obverse; this example is dated 2022.
Bullion
100 CFA Francs
A widely circulated West African coin bearing a crossed-sword emblem and a floral design, denominated 100 francs of the West African CFA franc.
World
George IV One Sixteenth Spanish Dollar
A small George IV silver coin of the "Anchor Money" series, worth one-sixteenth of a Spanish dollar and marked with an anchor and Roman numeral XVI.
Colonial
Ban Liang
A round bronze cash coin with a square central hole and two seal-script characters reading Ban Liang, from early imperial China.
Ancient