Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Halve Duit (VOC)
Small copper half-duit of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), bearing the crowned VOC monogram, struck in the 1700s for use in the Dutch trading world.
Early Modern
Prussian Taler
A large silver taler of the Kingdom of Prussia showing the crowned profile of Frederick II and a heraldic coat of arms, struck through the mid-to-late 1700s.
German States
Olympic Hockey Commemorative Dollar
Silver-colored commemorative dollar for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, showing an ice hockey player, maple leaves, and the Olympic rings.
Canadian & Provincial
Counterfeit Guinea
A base-metal (copper or brass) imitation of a George III gold guinea, struck or cast to deceive, showing a right-facing bust and a heraldic shield reverse.
Counterfeit
Long Cross Penny
Hand-struck medieval English silver penny with a crowned royal bust and a long voided cross reaching the rim, dividing the reverse legend.
Medieval Coins
Short Cross Penny
Hammered silver penny of Henry II showing a crowned facing-left royal portrait and a cross-crosslet (cross-and-crosslets) reverse.
Medieval Coins
Alexander the Great Silver Drachm
Silver drachm in the name of Alexander the Great, with the head of young Herakles in a lion skin and Zeus enthroned on the reverse.
Ancient
Vespasian Judaea Capta Denarius
Silver denarius of Emperor Vespasian (71–79 AD) with his laureate bust and a Judaea Capta reverse showing a mourning seated captive.
Ancient
60 Kreuzer Guldiner
A gold 60 Kreuzer Guldiner of the Holy Roman Empire dated 1568, showing Emperor Maximilian II in plumed armor in right profile.
German States
British Third Farthing
A tiny 1844 Victoria copper coin: young left-facing queen's bust obverse, crowned value reverse. One of Britain's smallest denominations, struck for Malta.
Circulation
Denarius of Marcus Aurelius
Roman silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius (c. 170-171 AD): laureate bearded emperor on the obverse, a standing personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Colombia 8 Escudos (Base Metal)
A base-metal (copper-alloy) piece styled after the colonial Colombian 8 escudos gold onza, with a Charles III profile and crowned heraldic arms dated 1760.
Colonial
J. Shaw & Co. Hardware Token
Copper halfpenny-sized merchant token advertising J. Shaw & Co., importers of hardware in Upper Town, issued around the 1850s.
Canadian & Provincial
New Brunswick One Cent
A bronze one-cent piece dated 1860 showing a steam locomotive with NB and ONE CENT — a New Brunswick locomotive-type token distinct from the official 1861/1864 cent.
Canadian & Provincial
Kenya 40 Shillings
A bimetallic Kenyan commemorative coin denominated 40 shillings, pairing a presidential portrait with the national coat of arms.
World
James Lewis and Company Civil War Token
A privately struck Civil War store card advertising Jas. Lewis & Co. of La Porte, Indiana, with a classical head obverse and a beehive reverse.
Token
Denarius of Faustina the Younger
Roman Imperial silver denarius of Faustina the Younger, showing her draped bust with an elaborate curled hairstyle and a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Duit (VOC)
A small copper duit struck for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), showing the crowned VOC monogram and the date 1790 on the obverse.
Early Modern
Contemporary Forgery of Louis XVI Ecu
A period-style counterfeit imitating a Louis XVI silver ecu: a copied royal portrait obverse and a copied standing-figure reverse dated about 1792.
Forgery
Spade Guinea Token
A base-metal imitation of the George III spade guinea, made as a gaming counter or advertising token, with a male profile obverse and a spade-shaped shield reverse.
Token
Denarius of Augustus
Silver denarius of Augustus (c. 19-18 BC) with his bare head and a comet-star of the deified Julius Caesar, inscribed DIVVS IVLIVS.
Ancient Coins
Silver Dirham (LACMA M.2002.1.437)
A thin, broad 8th-century Islamic silver dirham covered in Kufic Arabic inscriptions, with no portrait or image — only religious legends and decorative flourishes.
Islamic (Medieval)
Reis (Peninsular War)
A 1910 Portuguese silver Reis struck under King Manuel II to mark the centenary of the Peninsular War, dated 1808-1814 across the king's bust.
Modern
Counterstamped 8 Reales
A Charles IV silver 8 reales later punched with counterstamps and pierced with a central hole, layering a second life onto the classic Spanish dollar.
Colonial