Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Two Cent Piece
America's only two-cent coin, struck in bronze from 1864 to 1873, and the first U.S. coin to carry the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST."
Two Cent
Edward VI Crown
Hammered English silver crown of Edward VI (1547-1553), the first English crown coin and among the earliest English coins to carry a date.
Hammered
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian
Almohad Silver Dirham
A distinctive square silver coin of the Almohad Caliphate, covered on both faces with geometric Arabic religious inscriptions.
World
Kenya 5 Shillings
A modern bimetallic Kenyan coin pairing a President's portrait with the national coat of arms and the bold value 5 shillings.
World
Quarter Angel of Elizabeth I
A small Elizabethan gold coin of the early 1580s showing a crowned portrait of the queen and a cross set with heraldic shields.
Hammered
Follis of Maximian
A large silvered-bronze follis of the emperor Maximian, introduced with Diocletian's coin reform of the Tetrarchy around AD 294.
Ancient
Gold Mohur of Akbar
Aniconic gold coin of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), struck in Persian calligraphy in the Ilahi coinage style.
Mughal India
Unite of James I
A hammered gold pound coin of James I, named to celebrate the union of England and Scotland under one crown.
Hammered
French 30 Sols
A silver coin of the early French Revolution showing Louis XVI as constitutional king on one side and a standing Liberty on the other.
Revolutionary
Quarter Merk
A small hammered silver coin of Scotland worth a quarter of a merk, showing a crowned heraldic shield with a cross and a Latin legend.
Hammered
Congo 5 Francs
A modern circulation coin of the Democratic Republic of Congo, showing the central bank name and the value 5 Francs with decorative devices.
World
Egypt 20 Qirsh
The 20 qirsh was Egypt's largest silver coin under the Khedivate, bearing the Ottoman sultan's tughra; this example dates to 1905.
World
Idrisid Gold Dinar
Gold dinar of Morocco's Idrisid dynasty: a purely epigraphic Islamic coin bearing Kufic Arabic religious legends, no images.
Medieval Islamic
Akçe
The akçe was the tiny silver coin at the heart of the early Ottoman economy, struck with Arabic-script inscriptions and no portrait or figural imagery.
Medieval
Styca of Eanred
Small base-metal coin of King Eanred of Northumbria, with a cross and legend on one face and a central symbolic motif on the other.
Medieval Coins
Philip II Tetradrachm
A large silver coin of the Macedonian kingdom showing the laureate head of Zeus and a youthful horseman, struck under and after Philip II.
Ancient
Follis of Diocletian
A large silver-washed bronze coin of the Tetrarchy, introduced by Diocletian's currency reform around AD 294 with a stern laureate portrait.
Ancient
Australian Florin
Australia's pre-decimal silver two-shilling coin, showing the Commonwealth coat of arms with kangaroo and emu supporters and the reigning monarch.
World Coins
Australian Sovereign
22-carat gold sovereign struck at Australian branch mints; the 1855 Sydney Mint issue was the country's first gold coin.
Australian
Japanese 5 Yen
Small Meiji-era Japanese gold coin with an imperial chrysanthemum and characters on the obverse and a floral wreath framing the 5 Yen value.
World Coins
Artuqid Bronze Dirham
A 12th-century bronze coin of the Artuqid Turkmen dynasty, struck with Arabic inscriptions inside ornamental borders across eastern Anatolia.
Medieval Islamic
Imitation Abbasid Dirham
A thin, broad silver coin that copies an Abbasid dirham but was struck in northern Europe, with blundered pseudo-Kufic script and a piercing for wear.
Islamic (Medieval)