Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Katane (Catania) Apollo Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Katane in Sicily, admired for its finely engraved Apollo portrait and dynamic quadriga scene, sometimes signed by celebrated die engravers.
Ancient
Gela Man-Headed Bull Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the Sicilian city of Gela, featuring a racing quadriga on the obverse and the man-headed bull river god Gelas on the reverse.
Ancient
Aegina Sea Turtle Stater
One of the earliest widely circulated Greek silver coins, struck by the island city-state of Aegina, featuring a sea turtle and later a land tortoise, and nicknamed simply 'turtles' by ancient traders.
Ancient
Herakleia Herakles Nomos
A South Italian silver nomos from Herakleia showing Athena on the obverse and the city's namesake hero Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion on the reverse.
Ancient
Chinese Spade Money (Bu Coin)
An early Chinese bronze currency shaped like a miniature farming spade, used across several competing Zhou-era states before round coinage became standardized.
Asian
Alexander the Great Tetradrachm
The widely circulated silver coin of Alexander the Great, showing Herakles wearing a lion skin on the obverse and an enthroned Zeus on the reverse, struck across his empire and for generations after his death.
Ancient
Kyrene Silphium Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the North African Greek city of Kyrene featuring the now-extinct silphium plant, the source of the city's legendary wealth as a prized ancient medicinal herb.
Ancient
Sybaris Bull Stater
An archaic incuse-fabric silver stater from the legendarily wealthy city of Sybaris, showing a bull looking back over its shoulder, struck before the city's destruction in 510 BC.
Ancient
Terina Nike Nomos
A silver nomos from the South Italian city of Terina, celebrated among collectors for its graceful depictions of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, on the reverse.
Ancient
Lampsakos Electrum Stater
An electrum stater from Lampsakos on the Hellespont, another important early precious-metal trade coinage of Asia Minor, often featuring a winged horse or janiform head.
Ancient
Segesta Hound Tetradrachm
Silver coin of Segesta in western Sicily, an Elymian city whose coinage features a hunting hound, linked to local legend of the river god Krimisos.
Ancient
Chalkidian League Apollo Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm issued by the Chalkidian League of northern Greek cities, showing the laureate head of Apollo and a lyre, minted at Olynthus.
Ancient
Kroton Tripod Stater
A silver stater from the Greek colony of Kroton in southern Italy, depicting Apollo's sacred tripod, among the finest examples of the early incuse coinage style.
Ancient
Syracuse Arethusa Tetradrachm
A classic silver tetradrachm from ancient Syracuse depicting the nymph Arethusa surrounded by dolphins, one of the most admired coin types of the Greek world.
Ancient
Syracuse Dekadrachm (Kimon)
A magnificent silver dekadrachm from ancient Syracuse signed by the master engraver Kimon, prized as one of the finest achievements of Greek coin art.
Ancient
Metapontum Barley Ear Stater
A silver stater from the Greek colony of Metapontum in southern Italy, celebrated for its elegant ear-of-barley design symbolizing the city's agricultural wealth.
Ancient
Seleukos I Nikator Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Seleukos I Nikator, founder of the Seleucid Empire, often showing elephant and Nike-and-trophy imagery celebrating his eastern campaigns.
Ancient
Kaulonia Apollo Stater
An archaic South Italian silver stater from Kaulonia depicting Apollo striding with a small running figure on his outstretched arm and a stag beside him.
Ancient
Larissa Nymph Facing Drachm
A celebrated Thessalian silver drachm showing the facing head of the nymph Larissa, considered one of the finest facing-portrait achievements in Greek coin art.
Ancient
Boeotia Federal Coinage Stater
A silver stater struck under the Boeotian League's shared coinage system, instantly recognizable by the distinctive figure-eight Boeotian shield on the obverse.
Ancient
Mende Dionysos on Donkey Tetradrachm
A striking Classical-era silver tetradrachm from the wine-city of Mende, showing the wine-god Dionysos reclining drunkenly on a donkey, one of ancient coinage's most whimsical designs.
Ancient
Antiochos Seleucid Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm struck for one of several Seleucid kings named Antiochus, featuring a royal portrait obverse and enthroned Apollo reverse typical of the dynasty.
Ancient
Velia (Elea) Lion and Nymph Nomos
A classic South Italian silver nomos pairing a finely helmeted head of Athena with a striding or attacking lion, from the philosophically famous city of Velia.
Ancient
Syracuse Decadrachm
A large, exquisitely engraved silver coin from the Greek city of Syracuse, celebrated as one of the finest achievements of ancient Greek numismatic art, featuring the nymph Arethusa and a victorious chariot.
Ancient