Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Grosz Miejski
A silver city grosz struck at Elbląg in 1533, pairing the town's crowned coat of arms with an eagle and civic inscriptions under the Polish crown.
Early Modern
2 Lire
Silver 2 Lire of the Papal States struck under Pope Pius IX, part of the Italian lira system adopted by Rome in the 1860s.
Modern
Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach 5 Mark Commemorative
An 1908 German Empire 5 Mark silver commemorative of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach marking the University of Jena's jubilee, with the founder's capped portrait.
Commemorative
German 2 Reichsmark (Hindenburg)
Third Reich silver 2 Reichsmark showing an eagle over a swastika shield and, on the other side, Paul von Hindenburg with the value and date.
Circulation
Brunswick 1/3 Thaler
A 1678 silver 1/3 thaler of the Duchy of Brunswick, showing the leaping Saxon steed on the obverse and a standing saintly figure with a cross on the reverse.
German States
South Africa 5 Shillings
A large 1952 South African silver crown marking Cape Town's 300th anniversary, with King George VI and a sailing-ship reverse.
Circulation
Charles II Half Crown
A milled silver half crown of Charles II, showing his laureate bust facing right and crowned royal-arms shields on the reverse.
Milled
Pine Tree Shilling
Silver shilling from the Boston mint, struck about 1667–1674 but dated 1652, showing a pine tree beside the legend MASSACHUSETTS.
Colonial
Eighth Thistle Merk
A small hammered silver Scottish coin of James VI, showing a crowned heraldic shield of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Gothic Florin
A silver two-shilling florin of Queen Victoria in the medieval-revival Gothic style, with an ornate crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1869.
Milled
Charles I Twenty Pence
A small hammered silver twenty-pence coin of Charles I, showing his crowned profile and a heraldic reverse with rose and thistle badges.
Hammered
Spanish Colonial Half Real
The smallest milled silver coin of Spain's American empire: a tiny 1/2 real with a royal bust and the crowned arms between pillars.
Colonial
Counterstamped 2 Reales
A Spanish silver 2 reales dated 1803 that was later punched with a WR-and-crown counterstamp, giving it a second, borrowed life as legal tender.
Colonial
Antoninianus
Roman imperial coin of the crisis era, marked by a radiate (spiked) crown on the emperor's head; struck in debased silver-and-copper billon, c. 250-270 AD.
Ancient Coins
10 Para
Small Ottoman silver 10 Para dated AH 1280 (1863-1864), with the sultan's calligraphic tughra on one side and an ornamental Arabic-script inscription on the other.
Early Modern
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
Dirham of Samura ibn Jundab
An Arab-Sassanian silver dirham struck in the name of the early governor Samura ibn Jundab, keeping the Persian Shah bust and fire-altar design with added Arabic.
Islamic (Medieval)
Syracuse Dekadrachm
Large silver dekadrachm of Syracuse, c. 405-380 BC, showing a racing quadriga crowned by Victory and a head of the nymph Arethusa with flowing hair.
Ancient
Denarius of M. Sanquinius
A silver denarius struck at Rome in 17 BC by the moneyer M. Sanquinius under Augustus, tied to the Secular Games, with a male portrait and a standing herald.
Ancient
Denarius of Cn. Pompeius Magnus
Silver Roman Republican denarius of the Pompeian party (46–45 BC), with a bearded portrait of Pompey the Great and a galley reverse reading PRO COS.
Ancient
Tymf
A debased Polish silver coin of 1663 tariffed at 30 groszy, famous for a Latin motto declaring the state's safety worth more than the metal.
Early Modern
Speciedaler
Large early-modern Norwegian silver crown of the Dano-Norwegian kingdom, showing a crowned royal bust and the Norwegian lion shield, dated 1628.
Early Modern
50 Korun
A 1944 silver 50 korun of the wartime Slovak State, showing the profile of Jozef Tiso and a shield with a double cross, struck for the state's fifth anniversary.
Modern
Prussian Taler
A large silver taler of the Kingdom of Prussia showing the crowned profile of Frederick II and a heraldic coat of arms, struck through the mid-to-late 1700s.
German States