Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian
Long Cross Penny
Hand-struck medieval English silver penny with a crowned royal bust and a long voided cross reaching the rim, dividing the reverse legend.
Medieval Coins
English Shilling
English silver shilling of William III, showing his right-facing laureate bust and a crowned cruciform-shield reverse; this example is dated 1692.
World Coin
Maundy Money Threepence
A tiny sterling-silver British threepence; the 1687 James II example shows a crowned bust and a crowned Roman numeral III on the reverse.
Maundy
Jackie Robinson Silver Dollar
A 1997 U.S. silver dollar honoring Jackie Robinson and the 50th anniversary of his breaking baseball's color barrier, with an action portrait and eagle reverse.
Modern Commemorative
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, c. 305-283 BC, with his diademed portrait and the Ptolemaic eagle standing on a thunderbolt.
Ancient
Alexander the Great Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Alexander III of Macedon with the head of Heracles in a lion skin and an enthroned deity holding an eagle on the reverse.
Ancient
8 Reales (Portrait/Bust Type)
Large silver Spanish Empire dollar showing the bust of King Carlos III and a crowned coat of arms with lions and castles.
World Coins
Bank of England Dollar
A George III silver dollar issued by the Bank of England in 1804, struck over Spanish eight-reales coins, with a laureate bust and a crowned shield reverse.
Milled
Draped Bust Half Dollar
Early U.S. silver fifty-cent piece of 1796–1807. The pictured 1796 Small Eagle with 15 stars is among the rarest of all American coins.
Half Dollar
Three Graces Pattern Crown
A celebrated 1817 silver pattern crown of George III, engraved by William Wyon and never issued for circulation — a prized masterpiece of British coinage.
Pattern
Bhutan 500 Ngultrum Commemorative
Modern Bhutanese silver commemorative dated 2008, with a portrait of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and an ornate dragon-and-mythical-creature reverse.
Himalayan
Miliarensis of Constantius II
A late Roman silver miliarensis of Emperor Constantius II (AD 327–361), showing his diademed portrait and a standing reverse figure.
Ancient
Arles Miliarensis
A late Roman silver miliarensis of the 4th century AD, with a diademed imperial portrait and an armed standing figure holding spear and shield.
Ancient
Penny of Aethelred II
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of King Aethelred II showing his diademed bust facing left and a cross with pellets and ornament on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
Antiochos the Child Tetradrachm
Silver Seleucid tetradrachm, c. 175 BC, with a young diademed head and a martial reverse figure with spear and shield.
Ancient
Siliqua of Gratian
A small late Roman silver siliqua of the emperor Gratian (AD 367-383), with his diademed bust on the obverse and a standing figure or personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Kennedy Half Dollar
U.S. fifty-cent piece introduced in 1964 to honor President John F. Kennedy; the first-year 1964 coins were struck in 90% silver.
United States
Maundy Three Pence
A tiny sterling-silver threepence tied to Britain's Royal Maundy tradition; the photographed 1687 coin shows James II's bust and a crowned Roman numeral III.
Maundy
Penny of Cnut
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of King Cnut (Canute), showing a diademed bust facing left with a cross-and-pellets reverse, struck c.1024-1030.
Medieval Coins
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII of Egypt, c. 170-116 BC, with a diademed royal head on the obverse and an eagle on a thunderbolt reverse.
Ancient
Antiochos Hierax Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the Seleucid prince Antiochos Hierax, c. 242-227 BC, with a diademed royal head and a reverse figure bearing shield and spear.
Ancient