Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Lincoln Wheat Cent
U.S. one-cent coin struck 1909–1958 with Lincoln's profile and a pair of wheat ears framing ONE CENT; the 1909-S here is a scarce first-year San Francisco issue.
Small Cent
Roman Republican Denarius (Unidentified)
A silver Roman Republican denarius of about 115-114 BC: helmeted Roma on the obverse, Victory driving a two-horse chariot on the reverse.
Ancient
5 Aurar
Icelandic bronze 5 aurar of the Kingdom era, marked ÍSLAND with a crowned KONUNGDÓMUR ÍSLANDS reverse, struck 1926-1942.
World
French Half Ecu (Demi-Ecu)
A silver half ecu of Louis XVI dated 1792, with his bust left and a standing winged genius reverse reading L'AN 4 DE LA LIBERTE.
Royal
German 5 Reichsmark (Hindenburg)
German silver 5 Reichsmark of the Third Reich, pairing a portrait of Paul von Hindenburg with an eagle-and-swastika reverse; dated 1936.
Circulation
Canadian Five Cents (Nickel)
Canada's five-cent 'nickel,' with G.E. Kruger Gray's beaver reverse. This 1987 example pairs the beaver with an Elizabeth II portrait.
Canadian & Provincial
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
Shield Nickel
The first U.S. five-cent piece struck in copper-nickel, showing a Union shield on the obverse and a large numeral 5 on the reverse, made 1866–1883.
Nickel Five Cent
Maundy One Penny
The smallest British Maundy silver coin, bearing a crowned Roman numeral I; this example was struck in 1687 under James II.
Maundy
British Silver Threepence
Tiny sterling-silver threepence of Queen Victoria; the young-head type shown here dates to 1858 and is one of Britain's smallest circulating coins.
British Isles
Irish Pistole
A rare hammered gold emergency coin of 1640s Ireland, marked with its weight in pennyweights and grains rather than a portrait, and rated as a pistole.
Hammered
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
Double Rupi
A large Afsharid silver coin of Nader Shah, the double rupi, dated AH 1151 and covered in flowing Persian calligraphy and ornamental scrollwork.
Historic
Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle
United States $20 gold coin (1907–1933) designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, showing a striding Liberty with torch and olive branch before a radiant sun.
Gold Type Coin
Indian Paisa
A hand-struck copper paisa from early 19th-century India, its legends worn smooth by age and circulation. A humble base-metal coin of everyday commerce.
Princely & Presidency States
Denarius of Didius Julianus
A silver denarius of Didius Julianus, the short-lived emperor of 193 AD, bearing his laureate portrait and an imperial standing reverse.
Ancient
New Zealand Sixpence
New Zealand's small silver sixpence, famed for its native-bird reverse. This 1934 example shows King George V and the bird design with NEW ZEALAND SIXPENCE.
New Zealand
Bank of Upper Canada One Penny Token
Copper penny token of the Bank of Upper Canada showing St. George slaying the dragon, with a crowned royal-arms reverse; this example dated 1854.
Canadian & Provincial
Spade Guinea
A late George III gold guinea named for the distinctive spade-shaped shield on its reverse, struck in England from 1787 into the early 1800s.
Milled
Indian Head Half Eagle
U.S. $5 gold half eagle struck 1908–1929, with an unusual sunken (incuse) design: a headdressed Native American obverse and a standing eagle reverse.
Half Eagle
Joachimsthaler (Thaler)
A large early-16th-century Bohemian silver thaler from Joachimsthal, dated 1525; the coin whose name gave rise to the words 'thaler' and 'dollar'.
Early Modern
Victoria Maundy Twopence
A tiny sterling-silver ceremonial coin from a Royal Maundy set. This 1845 example shows Victoria's young head and a crowned 2 in a wreath.
British Isles
Capped Bust Half Eagle
Early U.S. five-dollar gold coin with a left-facing capped Liberty and a shield-breasted eagle marked "5 D."; the 1822 shown is a legendary rarity.
United States