Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Abbasid Silver Dirham
A thin, broad Islamic silver coin of the Abbasid Caliphate, covered edge to edge with concentric Kufic Arabic inscriptions and dated AH 132 (AD 749–750).
Islamic
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
Antoninianus of Trebonianus Gallus
A radiate-crowned billon antoninianus of the emperor Trebonianus Gallus, struck AD 251-253 with a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Nummus of Maximianus
A late-Roman bronze nummus (follis) of the emperor Maximianus, with his right-facing laureate portrait and a standing deity on the reverse.
Ancient
Denarius of Domitian
Silver denarius of the emperor Domitian (81-96 AD), with his laureate portrait on the obverse and, typically, the goddess Minerva 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
Venetian Grosso (Matapan)
High-purity silver Grosso of medieval Venice: the Doge kneeling before St. Mark on the obverse, an enthroned Christ on the reverse.
Medieval
Rijksdaalder van Leicester
A large silver Dutch rijksdaalder of the Leicester type, with a helmeted armored bust and ruff on the obverse and a compartmented heraldic shield on the reverse.
Early Modern
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
British Trade Dollar
British silver trade dollar for Far East commerce, with seated Britannia holding a trident and shield and a Chinese dragon reverse.
Dollar
Augsburg Commemorative Medal
A gold commemorative medal of the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, showing a detailed spired cityscape with religious imagery and a heraldic reverse.
Medal
5 Francs Ceres
France's large silver 5 francs bearing the wreathed head of Cérès, goddess of the harvest, with the value framed by laurel on the reverse.
Circulation
50 Centimes Semeuse
A small silver French 50 centimes with Roty's striding Semeuse (sower) on the obverse and the value within the national motto on the reverse.
Circulation
British Shilling
Small Victorian silver shilling showing Queen Victoria's crowned, veiled Jubilee portrait and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
World Coins
Panama-Pacific Exposition Quarter Eagle
A 1915 gold $2.50 commemorative for San Francisco's Panama-Pacific Exposition, showing Columbia astride a hippocamp and an eagle on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Solidus of Constantine II
Late Roman gold solidus of Constantine II, showing his ornately crowned bust and a seated figural reverse type.
Ancient Coins
German 20 Mark Gold
German Empire gold 20 mark of Prussia, with Kaiser Wilhelm I's bust and the imperial eagle; a small .900 gold coin from the pre-WWI Goldmark era.
Bullion/gold
Xuantong Yuanbao 20 Cents
A small late-Qing silver 20-cent coin with a Western-style dragon, the English legend FIRST YEAR OF HSUAN TUNG, and Chinese characters reading Xuantong Yuanbao.
Circulation
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
Copper Fals of Muzaffar Hajji
A worn medieval Islamic copper fals bearing Arabic calligraphy and the name of the ruler al-Muzaffar Hajji, an aniconic base-metal coin used as everyday small change.
Islamic (Medieval)
Capped Head Half Eagle
A U.S. five-dollar gold coin struck 1813–1834, showing a left-facing capped Liberty with stars and a heraldic eagle bearing a shield and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
United States
Julius Caesar Denarius
Silver Roman denarius of 44 BC bearing the bareheaded portrait of Julius Caesar, among the first Roman coins to show a living statesman's likeness.
Ancient
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