Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Spade Guinea Token
A base-metal imitation of the George III spade guinea, made as a gaming counter or advertising token, with a male profile obverse and a spade-shaped shield reverse.
Token
Australian Threepence
Australia's small pre-decimal silver threepence (3d), the country's tiniest coin, struck 1910-1964. The example shown carries a George V portrait.
Australian
Sierra Leone 20 Cents
A 1964 Sierra Leone 20 cents from the country's first decimal coinage, showing a portrait profile on one side and the national coat of arms with its lion on the other.
World
20 Francs Napoleon
A small 21 mm French gold coin bearing Napoleon III's profile and a wreathed 20 FRANCS reverse — the classic gold Napoleon, here dated 1857.
Bullion
1 Sol (Gold)
A 19th-century Peruvian 1 Sol note from El Banco de Piura, with a seated torch-bearer and a standing laborer flanking a bold UN SOL.
Circulation
Artuqid Bronze Dirham
A 12th-century bronze coin of the Artuqid Turkmen dynasty, struck with Arabic inscriptions inside ornamental borders across eastern Anatolia.
Medieval Islamic
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
Napoleon III 20 Francs
French gold 20 francs of Emperor Napoleon III, showing his bare head facing right and a wreathed value on the reverse; example dated 1857.
World Coins
Antoninianus of Julian of Pannonia
Copper-alloy radiate antoninianus attributed to Julian of Pannonia, with a spiked-crown portrait and an ORIENTIS RESTIT standing-figure reverse.
Ancient
Spanish Doubloon (8 Escudos)
Large Spanish gold coin worth eight escudos, showing the right-facing bust of King Charles IV and a crowned Spanish shield with a cross.
World Coins
Empire 20 Pesos
A gold 20 pesos of the Second Mexican Empire, showing a bearded imperial portrait, the legend IMPERIO MEXICANO, and a crowned heraldic coat of arms.
Circulation
40 Francs Napoleon
A large early French gold 40 francs of Napoleon's Consulate, with the bare-headed BONAPARTE PREMIER CONSUL bust and a laurel-framed 40 FRANCS reverse dated 1804.
Bullion
Tanzania 100 Shillings
A golden brass Tanzanian coin worth 100 shillings, showing a lively scene of running antelope with the Swahili legend SHILINGI MIA MOJA.
World
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
Aureus of Marcus Aurelius
Small Roman gold coin of the reign of Marcus Aurelius; this piece shows a diademed portrait and a standing deity or personification, dated to 163 AD.
Ancient Coins
Sestertius of Antoninus Pius
Large Roman bronze coin of Emperor Antoninus Pius, with his bearded profile head and a standing deity or figure on the reverse.
Ancient Coins
Roman As/Dupondius (Uncertain)
An uncertain Roman bronze As or Dupondius: a double-faced Janus head on one side and a ship (galley/prow) with ROMA below on the other.
Ancient
Ancient Roman Coin
An unattributed ancient bronze coin of the Roman Empire, showing a right-facing portrait head on the obverse and a figure or heraldic design on the reverse.
Ancient
Antoninianus of Aurelian
Late Roman billon coin of Emperor Aurelian, showing his radiate-crowned bust and a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient Coins
Antoninianus of Numerian
Late Roman radiate coin of the short-lived emperor Numerian (283-284 AD), showing his spiked crown and a Victory or standing deity on the reverse.
Ancient
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
Akçe
The akçe was the tiny silver coin at the heart of the early Ottoman economy, struck with Arabic-script inscriptions and no portrait or figural imagery.
Medieval
Antoninianus of Carinus
Bronze radiate coin of the emperor Carinus (283-285 AD), recognizable by his spiked crown and a standing or seated deity on the reverse.
Ancient
Antoninianus of Trebonianus Gallus
A radiate-crowned billon antoninianus of the emperor Trebonianus Gallus, struck AD 251-253 with a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient