Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Denarius of Marcus Aurelius
Roman silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius (c. 170-171 AD): laureate bearded emperor on the obverse, a standing personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Frankfurt am Main Taler
A 1772 silver Taler of the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt am Main, famed for its detailed city-view reverse with walls, towers and radiant sun.
German States
South Africa 5 Shillings
A large 1952 South African silver crown marking Cape Town's 300th anniversary, with King George VI and a sailing-ship reverse.
Circulation
Transylvanian Ducat of Catherine of Brandenburg
Gold ducat dated 1630 of Catherine of Brandenburg, ruling Princess of Transylvania, with her portrait and a double-headed eagle and shield reverse.
Medieval
Pahlavi Reign Gold Medal
A gold medal of Pahlavi-era Iran, its obverse a left-facing royal portrait and its reverse the Lion and Sun beneath a crown, dated 1971.
Persia / Iran
5 Yang
A late-Joseon Korean 5 Yang in bronze: a floral, chrysanthemum-and-taegeuk obverse paired with a coiled dragon and ornamental characters on the reverse.
Historic
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
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
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
Australian Sovereign
22-carat gold sovereign struck at Australian branch mints; the 1855 Sydney Mint issue was the country's first gold coin.
Australian
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
Aureus of Augustus
Roman imperial gold coin bearing the bare head of Augustus, first emperor of Rome, struck during his reign from 27 BC to 14 AD.
Ancient Coins
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
Liberty Head Double Eagle
U.S. $20 gold coin struck 1850–1907, showing a coroneted Liberty head left and a heraldic eagle with shield; the 1869 is a with-motto Type 2.
Double Eagle
Seated Liberty Dollar
U.S. silver dollar (1840-1873) with Liberty seated holding a shield and a liberty-cap pole, ringed by stars. The pictured coin is dated 1860.
Dollar
Capped Bust Half Dollar
U.S. fifty-cent silver coin struck 1807–1839, showing Liberty in a Phrygian cap surrounded by stars and a heraldic eagle on a shield.
Half Dollar
Antiochos the Child Tetradrachm
Silver Seleucid tetradrachm, c. 175 BC, with a young diademed head and a martial reverse figure with spear and shield.
Ancient
Mary I Groat
Hammered silver fourpence of Mary I (1553-1558), with her crowned bust left and the royal arms over a cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Gold Mohur of Akbar
Aniconic gold coin of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), struck in Persian calligraphy in the Ilahi coinage style.
Mughal India
20 Kronor
Gold 20 kronor of Sweden showing the crowned national arms with three coronets, reverse marked 20 KR and dated 1925.
World
4 Escudos
Spanish Bourbon gold 4 Escudos of the 1780s, with an armored royal bust facing right and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Early Modern
Laurel
A hammered English gold coin of James I worth twenty shillings, named for the king's laurel-wreathed profile, struck 1619-1625.
Hammered
Aureus of Faustina II
Roman imperial gold coin with the draped bust of Faustina II, daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife of Marcus Aurelius, struck around 147-150 AD.
Ancient Coins
Broad
A gold twenty-shilling coin of the Protectorate bearing Oliver Cromwell's Roman-style profile and a crowned quartered shield, dated 1656.
Hammered