Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Una and the Lion Five Pounds
William Wyon's 1839 gold Five Pounds pairs a young Queen Victoria with Una guiding a lion — widely praised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
British Isles
Gold Dinar of Baybars I
A hand-struck gold coin of the Mamluk sultan Baybars I, covered on both faces with Arabic calligraphy naming the ruler and struck in Egypt between 1260 and 1277 CE.
Islamic
Gold Dinar of Alp Arslan
A hand-struck Islamic gold coin of the Great Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan, covered in concentric Arabic inscriptions naming the ruler and caliph, AH 455–465.
Islamic
Gold Chervonets
Soviet gold coin of 1923 worth one chervonets (10 rubles), showing a peasant sowing before a rising sun and factories, with the Soviet state emblem.
World
Gold Square Mohur of Jahangir
A square gold mohur of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, bearing Persian calligraphy, the Lahore mint, and regnal-year dating.
Mughal India
Gold Stater of the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes
An Iron Age British gold stater of the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes, showing stylized wheat/barley ears on one face and a dynamic horse on the other.
Ancient
German 20 Mark Gold
German Empire gold 20 mark of Prussia, with Kaiser Wilhelm I's bust and the imperial eagle; a small .900 gold coin from the pre-WWI Goldmark era.
Bullion/gold
French 40 Francs Gold (Napoleon I)
A large early French gold coin showing Napoleon Bonaparte's left-facing profile and a wreathed reverse, struck in the opening years of his rule.
Bullion/gold
Five Guineas of Anne
Queen Anne's largest gold coin, the celebrated 1703 issue struck with VIGO below the bust from gold captured at the Battle of Vigo Bay.
Milled
Mercury Dime Centennial Gold
A 2016-W gold collector coin marking the centennial of the 1916 Mercury dime, struck in 1/10 oz of 24-karat gold at West Point.
Dime
Gold Tetradrachm of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II
Ptolemaic gold of Egypt, c. 260-240 BC, with paired busts of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II on one side and Ptolemy I and Berenike I on the other.
Ancient
Alexander the Great Gold Quarter Stater
A small gold fraction of the Alexander the Great coinage, showing the head of Heracles and an eagle perched on a thunderbolt, the attributes of Zeus.
Ancient
Indian Silver Coin
A silver coin of British India bearing Persian/Urdu calligraphy and a mint mark, in the Mughal-derived inscriptional style of Company-era coinage.
British India
Walking Liberty Half Dollar Centennial Gold
A 2016-W gold collector coin marking the centennial of the 1916 Walking Liberty half dollar, struck in 1/2 oz of 24-karat gold at West Point.
Half Dollar
Clark & Co Territorial Gold Half Eagle
An 1860 privately struck $5 gold piece from Clark, Gruber & Co. of Denver, coined from Pikes Peak gold during the Colorado gold rush.
Half Eagle
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
Guinea of George II
A milled gold guinea of Great Britain struck during the reign of George II, with a left-facing royal bust and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
Milled
Unite of James I
A hammered gold pound coin of James I, named to celebrate the union of England and Scotland under one crown.
Hammered
Solidus of Constantine I the Great
Constantine the Great's gold solidus, a high-purity coin struck from about AD 309 that became the standard of late Roman and Byzantine gold.
Ancient
Solidus of Justinian I
Byzantine gold solidus of Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD), showing his crowned imperial bust with a seated figure on the reverse.
Ancient Coins
Five Guineas of George II
The largest English gold coin of George II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms on the reverse.
Milled
Solidus of Valentinian I
The gold solidus of Valentinian I (AD 364-375), a pure-gold coin bearing his pearl-diademed profile that anchored the late Roman monetary system.
Ancient
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
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