Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Austria-Hungary 10 Kreuzer
A small low-grade silver 10 Kreuzer of Emperor Franz Joseph I, pairing his laureate portrait with a crowned double-headed imperial eagle and a 10 value shield.
Circulation
Lebanese 1 Piastre
A small holed bronze 1 Piastre of Greater Lebanon dated 1925, struck under the French Mandate, with bilingual legends and an ornamental wreath framing the value.
World
French West Africa 1 Franc
A lightweight aluminum 1 Franc dated 1948 for French West Africa, with an allegorical female head on the obverse and the value framed by AFRIQUE-OCCIDENTALE FRANCAISE on the reverse.
World
Swiss 1 Franc
A silver Swiss 1 Franc dated 1861, with the figure of Helvetia and the national coat of arms on one side and the value '1 Fr' in wreaths on the other.
Circulation
Gambia 1 Dalasi
A distinctive octagonal copper-nickel coin of The Gambia, showing the national coat of arms and the bold value 1 Dalasi dated 1998.
World
50 Sen (Dragon Type)
A Meiji-era Japanese silver 50 sen: a coiled dragon on one face, a sunburst-and-wreath value design on the other, dated Meiji 4 (1871).
Circulation
Commemorative Follis of Constantinople
Bronze city-commemorative of Constantine's era (330-340 AD): helmeted Constantinopolis on the obverse, a Victory standing on a ship's prow on the reverse.
Ancient
Denarius of the Pompeia Family
Silver Roman Republican denarius of the Pompeia family, with a male portrait head and a Victory driving a chariot on the reverse.
Ancient
1 Kopeck
Small copper 1 Kopeck of Imperial Russia dated 1908, with the value in a wreath on one side and the crowned double-headed eagle on the other.
Modern
Gotha 3 Kreuzer
A small silver 3 Kreuzer of the German state of Gotha, dated 1830, with an ornate armorial obverse and a laurel-wreath value reverse.
German States
German 2 Reichsmark (Hindenburg)
Third Reich silver 2 Reichsmark showing an eagle over a swastika shield and, on the other side, Paul von Hindenburg with the value and date.
Circulation
2 Francs Ceres
A French silver two francs of the early Third Republic showing the head of Cérès with a star on the obverse and the value within a wreath on the reverse.
Circulation
Triple Unite
The largest English hammered gold coin, struck for Charles I during the Civil War and valued at 60 shillings (three pounds).
Hammered
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
Somaliland 1 Shilling
An early circulation coin of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, its reverse showing a dove above the country's name and the value.
World
10 Pahlavi Gold Coin
A large gold coin of Imperial Iran valued at ten Pahlavi, showing Mohammad Reza Shah on the obverse and the crowned Lion and Sun on the reverse.
Persia / Iran
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy XII
Silver tetradrachm struck under Ptolemy XII of Egypt, father of Cleopatra VII, bearing a diademed royal Ptolemaic head and the dynasty's eagle-on-thunderbolt reverse.
Ancient
Follis of Crispus
A small bronze follis of Crispus, eldest son of Constantine the Great, with his diademed bust and a winged Victory reverse (317-326 AD).
Ancient
Siliqua of Jovian
Small late-Roman silver siliqua of Emperor Jovian (AD 363–364), with his right-facing portrait and a Victory or standing deity reverse.
Ancient
1 Pengő
Wartime Hungarian one pengő struck in lightweight aluminum, with an ornamental laurel-wreath design on one side and the value with the 1944 date on the other.
Modern
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
French Semeuse 5 Francs
A silver French 5-franc coin of the Fifth Republic showing the Sower (Semeuse) striding left, with a flowered wreath around the value on the reverse.
Circulation