Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
20 Lire
Silver-colored Italian 20 Lire piece of the Fascist era, showing a Mussolini profile and a horse-drawn chariot, dated 1936.
Modern
Schaummünze 4 Thaler
A silver Schaummünze struck to a 4-Thaler weight, dated 1666, with elaborate heraldic and figural imagery referencing August der Jüngere.
Medal
Gotha 3 Kreuzer
A small silver 3 Kreuzer of the German state of Gotha, dated 1830, with an ornate armorial obverse and a laurel-wreath value reverse.
German States
Bremen 12 Grote Thaler
A silver 12 Grote coin of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen dated 1845, with an ornamental civic coat of arms and an allegorical reverse.
German States
Canadian Ten Cents
Small silver Canadian dime with the Bluenose schooner reverse and an early Queen Elizabeth II portrait; the pictured coin is dated 1955.
Canadian & Provincial
British Florin
A Victorian silver two-shilling florin with a crowned, veiled Victoria and a heraldic crowned-shields reverse; the pictured coin is dated 1890.
World
Edward III Half Groat
Hammered silver English half groat of Edward III showing a crowned facing bust and a long voided cross with pellets on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
German East Africa 1 Rupie
A silver colonial rupee of German East Africa bearing the imperial eagle shield and the legend DEUTSCH OSTAFRIKA, struck for the German protectorate.
World
Follis of Maximian
A large silvered-bronze follis of the emperor Maximian, introduced with Diocletian's coin reform of the Tetrarchy around AD 294.
Ancient
Tetradrachm of Antiochos I Soter
A large Seleucid-era silver coin of Antiochos I Soter, showing a helmeted bearded royal head and a standing elephant, a symbol of eastern military power.
Ancient
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
Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach 5 Mark Wedding Commemorative
A silver German Empire 5 Mark of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach struck to mark a grand-ducal wedding, showing conjoined bride-and-groom profile busts.
Commemorative
Hanover-Luneburg 1.5 Thaler
A large silver 1.5 Thaler of Brunswick-Luneburg (Hanover), dated 1681, with a busy multi-shield heraldic design and the motto SOL BONA QUE HONESTA.
German States
Contemporary Forgery of Louis XVI Ecu
A period-style counterfeit imitating a Louis XVI silver ecu: a copied royal portrait obverse and a copied standing-figure reverse dated about 1792.
Forgery
Halfcrown of William III
A silver two-shilling-and-sixpence coin of William III showing his laureate profile facing right and crowned cruciform shields of arms, dated 1696.
Milled
Israel Half Lira (25th Anniversary)
A silver Israeli half lira dated 1973, the year the young state marked 25 years of independence, carrying a menorah-and-sprigs emblem and a Hebrew value.
World
Jefferson Nickel
U.S. five-cent piece introduced in 1938, showing Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and his Monticello home on the reverse. 1942–1945 issues are 35% silver.
Nickel Five Cent
Shilling of Charles I
A hammered silver English shilling of King Charles I, showing his crowned left-facing profile with the value mark XII and a quartered royal shield.
World Coins
Spanish Colonial Cob 8 Reales
A hand-struck silver cob 8 reales of Spain's American colonies—the irregular, hammered “piece of eight” bearing the crowned Habsburg arms and Pillars of Hercules.
Cob Coinage
Follis of Constantius Chlorus
Large silvered-bronze follis of Constantius I (Chlorus), the Tetrarchic emperor and father of Constantine, showing his laureate portrait facing right.
Ancient
Thebes Stater
Silver stater of Thebes with the Boeotian shield and a bearded head of Dionysos, struck as federal coinage of the Boeotian League, c. 395-338 BC.
Ancient
Rhodes Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the island city of Rhodes, 4th century BC, with the radiate head of the sun-god Helios and a rose, the city's civic emblem.
Ancient
Lysimachos Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Lysimachos of Thrace, c. 297-282 BC, showing the deified head of Alexander the Great and Athena seated with a shield and spear.
Ancient
Antoninianus of Gordian III
Silver double-denarius of the young emperor Gordian III (238-244 AD), marked by his radiate crown and a standing deity on the reverse.
Ancient