Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Broad
A gold twenty-shilling coin of the Protectorate bearing Oliver Cromwell's Roman-style profile and a crowned quartered shield, dated 1656.
Hammered
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
Pakistan One Rupee
An early coin of newly independent Pakistan, dated 1948, with the GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN legend framing an ornate Islamic geometric and floral design.
South Asia
Bhutan 5 Sengtrum
A small cupro-nickel Bhutanese coin of 1979 worth five Sengtrum, with the national emblem on the obverse and a traditional architectural gateway on the reverse.
Himalayan
Buffalo Nickel
Iconic U.S. five-cent coin struck 1913–1938, with a Native American profile on the obverse and a standing American buffalo on the reverse.
Nickel Five Cent
Antoninianus of Carinus
Bronze radiate coin of the emperor Carinus (283-285 AD), recognizable by his spiked crown and a standing or seated deity on the reverse.
Ancient
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
1 Markka
Finland's bimetallic one-markka coin (1993–2001), with a crowned heraldic lion on one face and a large numeral 1 on the other.
World
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
Bremen 12 Grote Thaler
A silver 12 Grote coin of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen dated 1845, with an ornamental civic coat of arms and an allegorical reverse.
German States
Canadian Ten Cents
Small silver Canadian dime with the Bluenose schooner reverse and an early Queen Elizabeth II portrait; the pictured coin is dated 1955.
Canadian & Provincial
Isle of Man Noble
The Isle of Man Noble: the world's first platinum bullion coin, pairing a crowned Queen Elizabeth II with a Viking longship reverse.
Bullion
Bicentennial Quarter
U.S. 25-cent coin issued for the 1976 Bicentennial, pairing Washington's portrait with a Colonial drummer and the dual date 1776-1976.
Quarter
Triple Unite
The largest English hammered gold coin, struck for Charles I during the Civil War and valued at 60 shillings (three pounds).
Hammered
Ottoman Manghir
The manghir was the small copper coin of the Ottoman Empire, used for everyday change; this example bears a tughra and dates to the reign of Murad II.
Medieval Islamic
East African 5 Cents
A holed copper-nickel colonial coin with a crown above scrollwork and EAST AFRICA lettering, issued by the East African Currency Board.
World
Travancore One Chuckram
Small copper one-chuckram coin of the princely state of Travancore, with the royal conch-shell emblem and a local-script denomination reverse.
Princely & Presidency States
Byzantine Nummus of Tiberius Constantine
A small bronze coin of Byzantine emperor Tiberius II Constantine (AD 578-582), with an imperial portrait or inscription and a mark of value or monogram.
Ancient
New Zealand Florin
New Zealand's silver two-shilling coin; this 1933 first-year example shows a kiwi and the legend NEW ZEALAND ONE FLORIN.
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea 5 Kina
Papua New Guinea's 1975 five-kina coin: Queen Elizabeth II in profile on the obverse, a bird-of-paradise with the K5 denomination on the reverse.
Circulation
India 10 Rupees
A silver-era Indian coin carrying the profile of King George VI, struck during the final years of British India and the transition to the Republic.
Circulation
Barbados 10 Cents
A small copper-nickel Barbadian 10-cent coin showing the national coat of arms on one side and the value and country name on the other.
Circulation
Laurel
A hammered English gold coin of James I worth twenty shillings, named for the king's laurel-wreathed profile, struck 1619-1625.
Hammered
Irish Pistole
A rare hammered gold emergency coin of 1640s Ireland, marked with its weight in pennyweights and grains rather than a portrait, and rated as a pistole.
Hammered