Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Yuan Shikai Dollar
A silver one-yuan dollar of the early Chinese Republic bearing the left-facing bust of Yuan Shikai, nicknamed the "Fatman Dollar" by collectors.
Circulation
Daoguang Tongbao
A round Chinese bronze cash coin with a square center hole, cast under the Qing emperor Daoguang; this example bears the Bao Quan mint mark.
Cash Coin
25 Euro (Bionik)
Austria's 2012 silver-niobium 25 euro coin, part of the Silver Niobium Series, with a purple niobium core and a Bionik (bionics) theme.
Commemorative
Guangxu Yuanbao Dollar
A crown-sized silver dragon dollar of Qing China inscribed 光緒元寶 (Guangxu Yuanbao), with a coiled dragon reverse and a provincial mint inscription; this piece dated 1905.
Circulation
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
Wang Mang Spade Money
A cast bronze spade-shaped coin of the Xin Dynasty, issued under the reformer Wang Mang, its flat blade bearing raised Chinese inscriptions.
Ancient
Junk Dollar
China's Republic-era silver dollar with Sun Yat-sen facing left and a Chinese junk under sail on the reverse; the pictured coin is Year 23 (1934).
Circulation
Austria 25 Euro Silver-Niobium Commemorative
Bi-metallic 25 Euro of the Austrian Mint with a silver outer ring and a colored niobium core; the 2003 first issue honored the town of Hall in Tirol.
Commemorative
Guangxu Yuanbao 50 Cents
A Qing-dynasty silver half-dollar bearing the legend Guangxu Yuanbao and a coiled dragon, struck by Chinese provincial mints during the Guangxu Emperor's reign.
Circulation
Xuantong Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A late Qing silver dollar-size coin of the Xuantong era (1909-1911), reading 宣統元寶 on the obverse with a Chinese dragon on the reverse.
Circulation
Wu Zhu Cash
A round Han-dynasty bronze cash coin with a central square hole and two seal-script characters, Wu Zhu, naming its weight of five zhu.
Cash Coin
Xuantong Yuanbao 20 Cents
A small late-Qing silver 20-cent coin with a Western-style dragon, the English legend FIRST YEAR OF HSUAN TUNG, and Chinese characters reading Xuantong Yuanbao.
Circulation
Qian Feng Quan Bao
A round bronze Tang cash coin with a square center hole, cast under Emperor Gaozong in the short-lived Qianfeng era and worth ten ordinary cash.
Cash Coin
Kai Yuan Tong Bao
A Tang-dynasty Chinese bronze cash coin with the four seal-script characters Kai Yuan Tong Bao around a central square hole.
Cash Coin
Qi State Knife Coin
A cast bronze knife-shaped coin of the ancient state of Qi, with Chinese characters running down the curved blade and a ringed handle terminal.
Ancient
Shansi Arsenal 1 Fen
A holed copper 1 Fen struck by the Shansi Arsenal in 1928, with Chinese inscriptions and numeral '1' around a central square hole.
Circulation
Guangxu Yuanbao 20 Cents
A machine-struck Qing silver 20 cents of the Guangxu era, with a coiled dragon on one face and a yin-yang (taiji) symbol on the other.
Circulation
Guangxu Yuanbao 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens
A small silver dragon coin of Qing China from the Guangxu era, its face reading 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens and its back showing a coiled Chinese dragon.
Circulation
Guangxu Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A silver Chinese dragon dollar of the Guangxu era, marked Guangxu Yuanbao and valued at 7 Mace 2 Candareens, with a coiled dragon on one face and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation
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
Ban Liang
A round bronze cash coin with a square central hole and two seal-script characters reading Ban Liang, from early imperial China.
Ancient
Kiautschou 5 Cents
A 1909 nickel 5 Cent coin of the German-leased Kiautschou Bay territory in China, pairing Chinese characters with the German imperial eagle.
Colonial
Mughal Islamic Rupee
A hand-struck silver rupee of the Mughal Empire, filled edge to edge with Persian and Arabic script naming the emperor, mint, and regnal year.
Islamic