Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Maundy Money Threepence
A tiny sterling-silver British threepence; the 1687 James II example shows a crowned bust and a crowned Roman numeral III on the reverse.
Maundy
British Half Sovereign
A small 22-carat British gold coin worth ten shillings; the pictured example shows Queen Victoria's left-facing Young Head portrait, dated 1863.
British
Shilling of George II
A milled silver shilling of George II, with a left-facing bust reading GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA and a crowned cruciform-shields reverse; this one is a 1736 roses and plumes issue.
Milled
Belgian Congo 5 Francs (Copper)
A copper 5 Francs piece dated 1887 with a radiant star obverse and a crowned heraldic reverse reading CONGO BELGE, widely regarded as a fantasy or novelty type.
World
Alabama Centennial Half Dollar
A 1921 U.S. silver half dollar marking a century of Alabama statehood, with jugate governor busts and a state eagle; issued in plain and scarcer 2×2 varieties.
Classic Commemorative
Battle of Antietam Half Dollar
A 1937 U.S. silver half dollar marking 75 years since the Civil War Battle of Antietam, with jugate busts of Lee and McClellan and Burnside Bridge on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Draped Bust Half Dollar
Early U.S. silver fifty-cent piece of 1796–1807. The pictured 1796 Small Eagle with 15 stars is among the rarest of all American coins.
Half Dollar
Irish Gun Money Halfcrown (30 Pence)
Emergency base-metal halfcrown struck for James II in Ireland during 1689–1690, valued at 30 pence and carrying his portrait and, on many issues, the month of striking.
Emergency Coinage
Gold Dinar of al-Mustanjid
A hand-struck Abbasid gold dinar of Caliph al-Mustanjid, bearing only Arabic calligraphy within concentric ring borders and dated AH 557.
Islamic (Medieval)
Gold Dinar of al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah
A gold dinar of the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah dated AH 343, struck as concentric Arabic inscriptions with no image on either face.
Islamic (Medieval)
Gold Dinar of al-Hafiz li-Din Allah
A hand-struck Fatimid gold dinar of the caliph al-Hafiz li-Din Allah, carrying only Arabic calligraphy in concentric ring borders and dated AH 544.
Islamic (Medieval)
Copper Fals of Shaban II
A Mamluk copper fals struck under Sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban II of Egypt, decorated with geometric ornament and Arabic legends rather than any figural image.
Islamic (Medieval)
5 Litai
A nickel-alloy 5 litai of newly independent Lithuania dated 1991, showing the value with radiating lines on one side and the armored knight Vytis on horseback on the other.
Modern
Grosz Koronny
A silver Crown grosz of the Kingdom of Poland, dated 1527, with a royal crown above a shield on one side and the Polish Eagle on the other.
Early Modern
Maundy Money Twopence
A tiny sterling-silver British twopence with a crowned Roman numeral II reverse; this example bears the profile of King James II, dated 1687.
Maundy
Bank of England Dollar
A George III silver dollar issued by the Bank of England in 1804, struck over Spanish eight-reales coins, with a laureate bust and a crowned shield reverse.
Milled
Swiss Shooting Thaler
A silver Swiss 5-franc shooting thaler dated 1934, struck for a federal shooting festival, with a standing female Helvetia figure and a heraldic shield.
Commemorative
German 5 Reichsmark Garrison Church Commemorative
A 1934 German silver 5 Reichsmark commemorative with a spread-winged Reichsadler and 'Deutsches Reich' on the obverse and the Potsdam Garrison Church reverse.
Commemorative
Philippines 50 Centavos
A 1960s Philippine 50-centavos coin in copper-nickel, its obverse showing an allegorical woman with a torch and its reverse the national coat of arms.
Southeast Asia
Delaware Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking 300 years since Swedish colonists landed in Delaware, showing Old Swedes Church on one side and the ship Kalmar Nyckel on the other.
Classic Commemorative
Clark & Co Territorial Gold Half Eagle
An 1860 privately struck $5 gold piece from Clark, Gruber & Co. of Denver, coined from Pikes Peak gold during the Colorado gold rush.
Half Eagle
East India Company Two Mohurs
An 1835 East India Company gold two mohurs, showing William IV facing left and a lion before a palm tree above 'TWO MOHURS'.
British India
Gold Dinar of Alp Arslan
A hand-struck Islamic gold coin of the Great Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan, covered in concentric Arabic inscriptions naming the ruler and caliph, AH 455–465.
Islamic
Gold Dinar of Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad (Buyid)
A hand-struck gold dinar of the Iranian Buyid dynasty, naming the emir Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad and dated AH 358, covered entirely in Kufic Arabic with no imagery.
Islamic (Medieval)