Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Denarius of Faustina the Elder
A silver Roman denarius honoring Faustina the Elder, wife of Antoninus Pius, with her draped bust and a seated Fortuna reverse, struck c. 141–161 AD.
Ancient
Irish Gun Money Shilling
A base-metal Irish emergency shilling struck for James II in 1689-1690, with his laureate bust and a crowned reverse dated by month, here October 1689.
Emergency Coinage
Medieval Penny
England's standard medieval coin: a small hammered silver penny with a crowned royal head on one side and a cross on the other, struck by hand across many reigns.
Medieval Coins
Gold Dinar of Jaqmaq
A hand-struck Mamluk gold dinar of Sultan al-Zahir Jaqmaq (r. 1438-1453 CE), covered in Arabic calligraphy with no figural imagery; this example is pierced.
Islamic (Medieval)
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
Charles I Sixpence
A hammered Stuart silver sixpence of Charles I, showing his crowned profile bust and a shield of arms, struck during the troubled decade of the English Civil War.
Hammered
Dirham of Qirwash ibn al-Muqallad
Silver dirham struck under the Uqaylid amir Qirwash ibn al-Muqallad of Mosul, dated 393 AH (1003 CE), with three-line Arabic legends.
Medieval Islamic
Tibetan Tangka
A silver tangka, the standard coin of old Tibet, its faces filled with Tibetan script and Buddhist ornamental motifs, struck from the late 18th into the 19th century.
Himalayan
Mughal Rupee (Akbar)
A hand-struck Mughal silver rupee of Emperor Akbar dated AH 1003 (AD 1594), covered on both faces with flowing Persian calligraphy and ornamental borders.
Historic
Qiran of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
A hand-struck silver qiran of the Qajar shah Fath-Ali, carrying Persian calligraphy, a decorative border and crown motif, dated AH 1240–1241 (AD 1825–1826).
Persia / Iran
Gold Dinar of Al-Walid I
An early Islamic gold dinar struck under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I (705-715 CE), bearing only Arabic Kufic inscriptions and no images on either face.
Islamic (Medieval)
Eric XIV Silver Coin
Silver coin of Eric XIV of Sweden (r. 1560–1568), showing his crowned profile portrait and a heraldic Vasa/Three Crowns reverse, struck c. 1565.
Medieval
Mark Antony Legionary Denarius
Silver denarius struck by Mark Antony in 32-31 BC to pay his army and fleet; reverse aquila between two standards, this example countermarked IMP VES.
Ancient
Denarius of Otho
Silver denarius of the emperor Otho, struck at Rome during his brief AD 69 reign, showing his bare head right with the legend IMP OTHO CAESAR.
Ancient
New Zealand Halfpenny
New Zealand's small bronze halfpenny, struck from 1940, with a royal portrait obverse and a Maori hei-tiki reverse. The coin shown is a 1940 George VI issue.
New Zealand
Gold Dinar of al-Hafiz li-Din Allah
A hand-struck Fatimid gold dinar of the caliph al-Hafiz li-Din Allah, carrying only Arabic calligraphy in concentric ring borders and dated AH 544.
Islamic (Medieval)
Irish Gun Money Halfcrown (30 Pence)
Emergency base-metal halfcrown struck for James II in Ireland during 1689–1690, valued at 30 pence and carrying his portrait and, on many issues, the month of striking.
Emergency Coinage
Thailand One Baht
A silver one-baht coin of Siam struck under King Rama VI, its obverse bearing the young king's uniformed profile within Thai royal inscriptions.
Southeast Asia
Gold Toman of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
A hand-struck Qajar gold toman of Fath-Ali Shah dated AH 1226–1227 (1811–1812), covered in ornate Persian calligraphy with no portrait or figural imagery.
Persia / Iran
Copper Fals of Shaban II
A Mamluk copper fals struck under Sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban II of Egypt, decorated with geometric ornament and Arabic legends rather than any figural image.
Islamic (Medieval)
Syracuse Bronze Coin of Hiero II
Ancient Greek bronze of Syracuse struck under King Hieron II, c. 275-215 BC, bearing a Hellenistic profile head; a very common Sicilian city bronze.
Ancient
Dirham of al-Mahdi
A silver Abbasid dirham struck under Caliph al-Mahdi in AH 166 (783 CE), its faces filled with linear Kufic Arabic legends declaring the Islamic faith.
Islamic (Medieval)
Bahawalpur Gold Coin
A gold coin or medallic piece linked to the princely state of Bahawalpur, its obverse bearing a uniformed royal portrait and its reverse an ornate coat of arms.
South Asia
Banda Singh Bahadur Sikh Rupee
A hand-struck silver rupee of the early Sikh Khalsa, issued in the name of the Sikh Gurus during Banda Singh Bahadur's short-lived sovereignty, dated Khalsa Era Year 2.
Asian