Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Eric XIV Silver Coin
Silver coin of Eric XIV of Sweden (r. 1560–1568), showing his crowned profile portrait and a heraldic Vasa/Three Crowns reverse, struck c. 1565.
Medieval
Ancient Sicilian Silver Coin
A silver coin of ancient Greek Sicily, showing a female goddess or nymph head on one face and a two-horse chariot (biga) on the other.
Ancient
Louis d'Or Coin Weight
A French bronze monetary weight (poids monétaire) made to check the weight of a gold Louis d'Or, not a coin itself but a money-changer's balance weight.
Coin Weight
British Britannia Silver Coin
A modern UK bullion coin in fine silver, carrying a face value of 2 Pounds and the classic seated figure of Britannia with shield and trident.
Bullion
Warring States Knife Coin
A cast bronze knife coin (dao bi) of China's Warring States period, shaped like a small blade with a ringed handle and cast inscriptions.
Ancient
10 Pahlavi Gold Coin
A large gold coin of Imperial Iran valued at ten Pahlavi, showing Mohammad Reza Shah on the obverse and the crowned Lion and Sun on the reverse.
Persia / Iran
Macao Silver Coin (1974)
A 1974 Macau silver coin marking the Macau-Taipa Bridge: a spanning bridge with a Chinese junk below, ringed by REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA and PONTE MACAU-TAIPA.
Circulation
China Panda Gold Coin
A modern Chinese gold bullion coin with the Temple of Heaven on one side and a giant panda on the other; this 2016 issue is a 30-gram gold piece.
Bullion
Bronze Coin of Septimius Severus (Tyre)
Roman provincial bronze struck at Tyre (Phoenicia) under Septimius Severus, 193-211 AD, with the emperor's bust on the obverse and a temple or deity reverse.
Ancient
Syracuse Bronze Coin of Hiero II
Ancient Greek bronze of Syracuse struck under King Hieron II, c. 275-215 BC, bearing a Hellenistic profile head; a very common Sicilian city bronze.
Ancient
Chu State Ant-Nose Coin
A small cast bronze cowrie-shaped coin of the Chu state, bearing a face-like Chinese inscription in relief, nicknamed ant-nose or ghost-face money.
Ancient
Unidentified Silver Coin (Louis XV era)
An 18th-century French royal silver coin of the Louis XV era, showing a right-facing bust and a crowned fleur-de-lis shield; the exact denomination is not confirmed.
Royal
American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin
A modern one-ounce, .9999 fine gold $100 coin from the US Mint's American Liberty series, struck in dramatic high relief with a contemporary Liberty and eagle design.
Bullion
First Spouse Gold Coin (Alice Paul)
A 2012 half-ounce 24-karat gold coin from the U.S. Mint's First Spouse series honoring suffragist Alice Paul and the woman-suffrage movement.
Commemorative
3 Roubles (First All-Russian Coins)
Soviet 1982 commemorative 3 Roubles honoring the first all-Russian coins, showing three historical 18th-century Russian coins with the state emblem reverse.
Commemorative
Kennedy Half Dollar 50th Anniversary High Relief
U.S. 90% silver half dollar issued in 2014 for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy design, with a restored high-relief JFK portrait.
Half Dollar
12 Roubles (Nicholas I)
A rare Imperial Russian platinum 12 Roubles of Nicholas I, showing the crowned double-headed eagle and a Cyrillic '12 РУБЛЕЙ' value in Ural platinum.
Modern
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
British Shilling
Small Victorian silver shilling showing Queen Victoria's crowned, veiled Jubilee portrait and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
World Coins
Half Sovereign
A small British 22-carat gold coin worth ten shillings; this example shows Queen Victoria's veiled, crowned Jubilee Head portrait and is dated 1887.
World Coins
Canadian Silver Dollar
Canada's first circulating silver dollar, the 1935 Voyageur type, showing George V and a canoe with paddlers on the reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
British Sixpence
Small British silver sixpence (6d); this example is an 1888 Queen Victoria 'Jubilee head' with the crowned, veiled bust.
British Isles
Tanzania 500 Shillings
A modern base-metal circulating coin of Tanzania carrying a right-facing portrait long associated with the nation's founding president and a Kiswahili legend.
World
Victoria Maundy Fourpence
A tiny sterling-silver ceremonial coin from a royal Maundy set. This 1889 example shows Victoria's crowned Jubilee Head and a crowned '4' in a wreath.
British Isles