Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Australian Sovereign
22-carat gold sovereign struck at Australian branch mints; the 1855 Sydney Mint issue was the country's first gold coin.
Australian
Australian Sixpence
Small silver sixpence of the Commonwealth of Australia; this 1935 piece carries the crowned bust of King George V.
Australian
Mary I Groat
Hammered silver fourpence of Mary I (1553-1558), with her crowned bust left and the royal arms over a cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Swiss 5 Francs
Large .900 silver Swiss crown of 1888–1916, showing a Helvetia head on one face and the Swiss cross shield within a wreath on the other.
World
20 Kronor
Gold 20 kronor of Sweden showing the crowned national arms with three coronets, reverse marked 20 KR and dated 1925.
World
4 Escudos
Spanish Bourbon gold 4 Escudos of the 1780s, with an armored royal bust facing right and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Early Modern
French Semeuse 2 Francs
French Third Republic silver 2 francs showing Roty's striding Sower (Semeuse); the pictured example is dated 1899.
Circulation
France 2 Euro D-Day Anniversary Commemorative
A 2014 French bi-metallic 2 euro commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, dated 1944-2014 with a ring of EU stars.
Commemorative
Quarter Angel of Elizabeth I
A small Elizabethan gold coin of the early 1580s showing a crowned portrait of the queen and a cross set with heraldic shields.
Hammered
Qajar 5 Tomans Commemorative
A late Qajar gold 5 Tomans of Persia showing Ahmad Shah Qajar in a laurel wreath and the national Lion emblem, dated 1299.
Persia / Iran
Barber Quarter
U.S. twenty-five-cent silver coin struck 1892–1916, with a left-facing Liberty head and a heraldic shield-eagle reverse.
Quarter
Denarius of Septimius Severus
Silver denarius of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus (193–211 AD), showing his laureate head and a standing reverse figure.
Ancient
Sestertius of Commodus
A large Roman bronze sestertius of Emperor Commodus (180–192 AD), his laureate bearded head on one side and a standing figure on the other.
Ancient
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
Gustav I Silver Coin
Early-Renaissance Swedish silver of Gustav I Vasa (r. 1523–1560), pairing a crowned armored royal bust with a crowned heraldic lion.
Medieval
5 Aurar
Icelandic bronze 5 aurar of the Kingdom era, marked ÍSLAND with a crowned KONUNGDÓMUR ÍSLANDS reverse, struck 1926-1942.
World
20 Reales (Isabel II)
Crown-sized Spanish silver 20 Reales of Queen Isabel II, with her crowned right-facing profile and a crowned pillared shield, dated 1854.
Modern
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
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
Double Louis d'Or
A large gold coin of Louis XIV dated 1701: the king's laureate profile and 'LUDOVICUS MAGNUS' obverse, an ornate cross of arms reverse.
Royal
J. Shaw & Co. Hardware Token
Copper halfpenny-sized merchant token advertising J. Shaw & Co., importers of hardware in Upper Town, issued around the 1850s.
Canadian & Provincial
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
Philip and Mary Shilling
Hammered silver shilling of Philip II of Spain and Mary I (1554-1558), showing their paired royal busts and a crowned quartered shield of arms.
Hammered
Groat of William IV
A small silver fourpenny piece of William IV (1836–1837), with a seated Britannia reverse; the coin that revived the modern British groat.
Milled