Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Roman Denarius
A small hammered silver coin of ancient Rome, showing an emperor's portrait and abbreviated Latin titles on one side and a deity or figure on the other.
Ancient
8 Escudos (Carolus)
The largest Spanish gold coin of the age, the 8 Escudos or doubloon, struck under the Habsburg Carolus rulers with the crowned quartered royal arms.
Early 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
Prince Edward Island One Cent
Bronze one-cent coin struck in 1871 for the colony of Prince Edward Island, with Queen Victoria on the obverse and the island's name and date on the reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
French Silver Franc
A small Third Republic silver 1-franc coin with an allegorical Marianne head and a REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE reverse; the pictured piece is dated 1899.
World
U.S. Gold Five Dollar (Half Eagle)
Modern U.S. $5 gold coin: Saint-Gaudens striding Liberty with torch on the obverse and a soaring eagle reverse; this piece is dated 1987.
Us
Krugerrand
South Africa's 1 oz gold bullion coin, with Paul Kruger's portrait on the obverse and a leaping springbok on the reverse; this piece is dated 1975.
Bullion
Hawaii State Quarter
The 2008 Hawaii State Quarter, final coin in the 50 State Quarters series, showing King Kamehameha I reaching over the islands.
Quarter
Eighth Thistle Merk
A small hammered silver Scottish coin of James VI, showing a crowned heraldic shield of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Five Guineas of George II
The largest English gold coin of George II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms on the reverse.
Milled
Charles I Twenty Pence
A small hammered silver twenty-pence coin of Charles I, showing his crowned profile and a heraldic reverse with rose and thistle badges.
Hammered
Ghana 1 Cedi
A golden-brass Ghanaian coin dated 1979, showing a cocoa pod with FREEDOM AND JUSTICE on one face and the national coat of arms on the other.
World
Spanish Colonial 4 Reales
A large silver colonial coin worth half a Spanish dollar, struck for Spain's American empire and bearing the crowned Spanish royal arms.
Colonial
Kiautschou 5 Cents
A 1909 nickel 5 Cent coin of the German-leased Kiautschou Bay territory in China, pairing Chinese characters with the German imperial eagle.
Colonial
Jalisco 5 Centavos
A small copper 5-centavos coin issued by the Mexican state of Jalisco in 1915 during the Revolution, with a large numeral 5 and the national eagle.
Revolutionary
1 Grosz
A small 1949 Polish one-grosz coin bearing the crownless national eagle and RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA, with the value 1 GROSZ framed by grain on the reverse.
Modern
Hryvnia
Medieval silver money unit of Kievan Rus, circulating as cast silver ingots and weight-money rather than as a struck, portrait-bearing coin.
Medieval
Escudo (Joanna and Charles V, contemporary copy)
A contemporary gilded copper-alloy copy imitating a Spanish gold escudo of Joanna and Charles V, made to pass as the real Habsburg gold coin.
Early Modern
Erstein Notgeld 10 Pfennigs
A 1917 German emergency coin (Notgeld) for 10 Pfennigs from the town of Erstein, with the city coat of arms on one side and a large 10 on the other.
Token/notgeld
Trinidad and Tobago 5 Cents
A bronze five-cent coin of Trinidad and Tobago showing a perched bird — the Greater Bird of Paradise, often mistaken for a parrot — with FIVE CENTS on the reverse.
Circulation
Bermuda Edward VIII Fantasy Crown
A modern fantasy Bermuda crown dated 1936 with an Edward VIII profile and a three-masted sailing ship; a gold-plated novelty, not an official coin.
Fantasy Issue
British Decimal Half Penny
The smallest UK decimal coin, a tiny bronze half-penny introduced with decimalisation in 1971, bearing a crown reverse and the Machin portrait of Elizabeth II.
British Isles
Five Guineas of Anne
Queen Anne's largest gold coin, the celebrated 1703 issue struck with VIGO below the bust from gold captured at the Battle of Vigo Bay.
Milled
Pillar Dollar (Columnario)
Machine-struck Spanish colonial silver 8 reales showing two crowned globes between the Pillars of Hercules; a trusted world trade coin.
World Coins