Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Shield Nickel
The first copper-nickel five-cent coin, the Shield Nickel features a national shield on the obverse and was issued from 1866 to 1883, including rare rays and proof-only dates.
United States
Threepence
A small British coin worth three pence, issued first as a tiny silver piece and later as the distinctive 12-sided brass 'threepenny bit' beloved for its unusual shape.
British
Eukratides I Gold Stater (Baktria)
A gold stater of Eukratides I, the powerful Greco-Bactrian king best known for issuing the largest gold coin surviving from antiquity, depicting the divine twins Dioskouroi on horseback.
Ancient
Joachimsthaler
Struck beginning in 1520 in the Bohemian silver-mining town of Joachimsthal, this large silver coin gave its name, shortened to 'thaler' and later 'dollar,' to countless currencies around the world.
European
Australian Florin (pre-decimal)
Pre-decimal Australian silver florin worth two shillings, minted from 1910 until decimalization replaced it with the 20-cent coin in 1966.
Africa & Oceania
Venezuela Bolivar Silver (Bolívar Fuerte)
A large silver five-bolívares coin nicknamed the "fuerte" (strong) for its full weight and fineness, featuring a portrait of independence hero Simón Bolívar.
Latin American
Bolivian Boliviano Silver
Bolivia's national currency unit, the boliviano, was introduced in the 1860s as a substantial silver coin and remains the country's monetary unit in modern, non-silver form.
Latin American
Sumatra EIC Keping (British Bencoolen)
A small tin or copper coin struck by the British East India Company for its Bencoolen settlement on Sumatra, denominated in the local unit called the keping.
Asian
Bactrian Silver Tetradrachm
Large silver coin of the Greco-Bactrian kings of Central Asia, celebrated for producing some of the finest realistic royal portraiture in all of ancient coinage.
Ancient
British India Silver Rupee (Victoria Empress)
Silver rupee of British India struck under Queen Victoria as Empress of India, the workhorse coin of the Raj's monetary system from 1877 to 1901.
Asian
Aureus of Nero
The gold coin of Emperor Nero, whose AD 64 monetary reform reduced the aureus's weight standard alongside similar changes to the silver denarius.
Ancient
Carthage Zeugitania Electrum Stater
A gold-silver electrum coin struck by Carthage, chiefly to fund its wars in Sicily, showing a wreathed female head and a horse or horse's head.
Ancient
Segesta Hound Tetradrachm
Silver coin of Segesta in western Sicily, an Elymian city whose coinage features a hunting hound, linked to local legend of the river god Krimisos.
Ancient
Angel
An English gold coin depicting the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon, introduced in 1465 and famously used as a ceremonial 'touch piece' in royal healing rituals.
British
Florin (Two Shillings)
A British silver coin worth two shillings, notable for the controversial 1849 'Godless Florin' that omitted the customary religious motto, and for foreshadowing decimal coinage.
British
Byzantine Gold Solidus
The gold standard coin of the Byzantine Empire for over 700 years, prized in medieval trade as far away as India and Scandinavia under the nickname "bezant."
Ancient
Syracuse Arethusa Tetradrachm
A classic silver tetradrachm from ancient Syracuse depicting the nymph Arethusa surrounded by dolphins, one of the most admired coin types of the Greek world.
Ancient
New Zealand Penny (KGVI)
New Zealand bronze penny struck under King George VI, notable for its reverse featuring the native tuatara reptile, part of the country's distinctive 1933-launched coin series.
Africa & Oceania
Australian 50 Cent (round 1966 silver)
Australia's original round 50-cent coin from the 1966 decimal changeover, struck in 80% silver and withdrawn the same year once its bullion value exceeded face value.
Africa & Oceania
Canadian Colored Maple Leaf
A colorized variant of Canada's iconic Maple Leaf bullion coin, applying vivid printed designs over the standard maple leaf or themed reverse to create eye-catching collector editions.
Canadian
French 5 Francs "Napoleon"
A large silver crown-sized coin bearing the portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, first as First Consul and later as Emperor, marking France's decimal franc system's early flagship silver denomination.
European
Ecuador Sucre Silver
Ecuador's historic silver one-sucre coin, named after independence hero Antonio Jose de Sucre, circulated for decades before Ecuador's currency was eventually replaced by the US dollar.
Latin American
Rama IV Siamese Baht (first machine-struck)
Landmark Siamese silver coin introduced under King Mongkut (Rama IV), marking the country's shift from traditional bullet-shaped money to modern, flat, machine-struck coinage.
Asian
Dutch Silver Ducat
A historic Dutch trade silver coin first struck in 1659, depicting a standing knight, that has been minted continuously for centuries and remains a popular silver bullion and collector piece today.
European