Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Denarius of Augustus
Silver denarius of Augustus (c. 19-18 BC) with his bare head and a comet-star of the deified Julius Caesar, inscribed DIVVS IVLIVS.
Ancient Coins
Tunisia 100 Millimes
A brass Tunisian coin worth 100 millimes, with flowing Arabic calligraphy inside an ornate border on one side and a large 100 on the other.
World
Half Pahlavi Gold Coin
A small Iranian gold coin worth half a Pahlavi, showing Reza Shah in a military cap on one side and the Lion and Sun with a crown on the other.
Persia / Iran
Edward III Noble
Large medieval English gold coin of King Edward III, showing the crowned king standing in a ship and an ornate floral cross on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
100 Yen (Showa Silver)
Japan's first 100 Yen coin, in silver: a phoenix in flight on the obverse and a bold radiating 100 on the reverse. Dated Showa 33 (1958).
Circulation
Calpurnia Denarius
Silver Roman Republican denarius of the Calpurnia gens: a right-facing male head on the obverse and a galloping horseman with inscription on the reverse.
Ancient
2 Fillér
A small early-20th-century Hungarian 2 fillér in copper-based bronze, showing the crowned Hungarian coat of arms on the obverse and the value with date on the reverse.
Modern
Jamaica Half Penny
An 1871 colonial Jamaica halfpenny in copper-nickel: young Queen Victoria facing left on the obverse, the crowned Jamaican shield of arms on the reverse.
Colonial
Sixpence of Elizabeth I
A hammered silver sixpence of Elizabeth I, showing the crowned, ruff-collared queen in profile and the royal shield, most bearing a date beside a mint mark.
Hammered
Tunisia 1 Millime
Tunisia's smallest post-independence coin, a tiny aluminum-bronze 1 millime of 1960 showing the value 1 framed by laurel and a numeral in profile.
World
Najd Silver Coin
Silver trade coin catalogued to Najd, central Arabia, bearing a left-facing Victoria Queen bust and an 1862 date in the British India rupee style.
Arabia
Ceylon 10 Cents (Cupronickel)
A wartime 1944 British Ceylon ten-cent piece in cupronickel, its obverse bearing the uniformed left-facing bust of King George VI and the legend GEORGE VI KING.
South Asia
Edward I Groat
Rare early English silver fourpence of Edward I, showing his crowned facing-profile bust and a long-cross reverse with pellets in the quarters.
Medieval Coins
Dirham of Caliph al-Mansur
An Abbasid silver dirham dated AH 150 (767 CE), from the reign of Caliph al-Mansur, bearing purely Arabic religious inscriptions and a named mint.
Islamic (Medieval)
Gold Dinar of Ahmad ibn Tulun
A late-9th-century Islamic gold dinar of the Tulunid ruler Ahmad ibn Tulun, its faces filled with concentric Arabic inscriptions and dated AH 268 (881–882 CE).
Islamic (Medieval)
Fatimid Dinar of Imam Nizar
An 11th-century Fatimid gold dinar with concentric circular Kufic inscriptions naming the ruler and Shi'a invocations, a hallmark of Fatimid coinage.
Islamic (Medieval)
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
Wang Mang Spade Money
A cast bronze spade-shaped coin of the Xin Dynasty, issued under the reformer Wang Mang, its flat blade bearing raised Chinese inscriptions.
Ancient
1 Bu Gin
A small rectangular Japanese silver coin, the ichibu gin, worth one bu (a quarter ryo), bearing beaded borders, paulownia crests and Ginza inscriptions.
Historic
Syracuse Tetradrachm
Classical silver tetradrachm of Syracuse in Sicily, showing a racing four-horse chariot on one side and a right-facing nymph's head on the other.
Ancient
Ancient Greek Didrachm
An ancient Greek silver didrachm worth two drachms, here with a bearded male head and a horse-and-rider reverse in the tradition of Magna Graecia.
Ancient
1 Öre
A small copper 1 öre of Sweden dated 1873, with a left-facing profile of King Oscar II, the legend SVERIGE OCH NORGE, and the value in a laurel wreath.
Modern
1 Euro (10 Years EMU)
Dutch bi-metallic 1 Euro marking ten years of Economic and Monetary Union, with a stylized integration design and the twin dates 1999 and 2009.
Commemorative
French Cérès 1 Franc
A .835 silver French 1 Franc showing the goddess Cérès in a liberty cap; this example is an 1895 Third Republic issue with a wreath-and-value reverse.
Circulation