Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British Penny
Large bronze pre-decimal British penny showing King George VI in profile, struck for circulation in the 1930s through early 1950s.
World Coins
Maundy Three Pence
A tiny sterling-silver threepence tied to Britain's Royal Maundy tradition; the photographed 1687 coin shows James II's bust and a crowned Roman numeral III.
Maundy
Maundy One Penny
The smallest British Maundy silver coin, bearing a crowned Roman numeral I; this example was struck in 1687 under James II.
Maundy
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 Sixpence
Small British silver sixpence (6d); this example is an 1888 Queen Victoria 'Jubilee head' with the crowned, veiled bust.
British Isles
British Florin
A Victorian silver two-shilling florin with a crowned, veiled Victoria and a heraldic crowned-shields reverse; the pictured coin is dated 1890.
World
Victorian Crown
Large Victorian silver crown showing Queen Victoria's veiled "Old Head" portrait and Pistrucci's Saint George slaying the dragon, dated 1893.
World Coins
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
Abbasid Copper Fals
A hand-struck Abbasid copper fals dated AH 219 (834–835 CE), covered entirely in linear Arabic inscriptions with no portrait or figural imagery.
Islamic (Medieval)
Ghaznavid Dinar
Gold dinar of the Ghaznavid dynasty (c. 10th–11th century), an epigraphic Islamic coin struck at Ghazna and allied mints in Afghanistan.
Medieval Islamic
Roman Siliqua
Small late-Roman silver coin of the 4th century AD, with an emperor's portrait facing right and a standing robed figure on the reverse.
Ancient
Mughal Islamic Rupee
A hand-struck silver rupee of the Mughal Empire, filled edge to edge with Persian and Arabic script naming the emperor, mint, and regnal year.
Islamic
Antiochos Hierax Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the Seleucid prince Antiochos Hierax, c. 242-227 BC, with a diademed royal head and a reverse figure bearing shield and spear.
Ancient
Hanover 1/6 Thaler
A German States silver 1/6 Thaler of Hanover (Brunswick-Luneburg) dated 1688, showing the leaping Saxon Steed and a fractional-denomination reverse.
German States
Hanover 2/3 Thaler
A large German States silver 2/3 Thaler of Brunswick-Luneburg (Hanover) dated 1694, with an ornate coat of arms and the leaping Saxon horse reverse.
German States
Antiochos III Tetradrachm
A large Seleucid silver coin of Antiochos III the Great, showing his diademed head and a seated deity holding shield and spear.
Ancient
Atilia Denarius
Roman Republican silver denarius struck by a moneyer of the gens Atilia, with a helmeted head on the obverse and a deity or figure with the family name on the reverse.
Ancient
Samanid Dirham
A hand-struck silver dirham of the Samanid dynasty, covered on both sides in Arabic Kufic script naming God, the caliph and the mint — no images at all.
Islamic (Medieval)
Banda Singh Bahadur Sikh Rupee
A hand-struck silver rupee of the early Sikh Khalsa, issued in the name of the Sikh Gurus during Banda Singh Bahadur's short-lived sovereignty, dated Khalsa Era Year 2.
Asian
Gouden Dukaat
A Dutch gold trade ducat of the United Provinces, showing an armored standing knight and an inscribed heraldic tablet; this example is dated 1724.
Early Modern
Tanzania 200 Shillings
A golden-brass circulating coin of the United Republic of Tanzania, showing a large African animal in grass with a bold 200 and a Swahili shilling legend.
World
Philippines 20 Centavos
A small wartime silver 20 centavos of the Commonwealth-era Philippines: a standing Liberty figure and Mayon volcano, with an eagle over a shield on the reverse.
Southeast Asia
Philippines 25 Centavos
Silvery base-metal 25 centavos of the young Republic of the Philippines, dated 1958: a standing figure with a liberty torch and the Republic's sunburst coat of arms.
Southeast Asia
Hoxne Hoard Siliqua
A small late-Roman silver siliqua of the type found in Britain's Hoxne Hoard, with an imperial portrait and a standing figure or personified virtue.
Ancient