Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Travancore One Cash
A tiny copper coin of the princely state of Travancore, carrying the state's conch-shell emblem on one side and its cash value in local script on the other.
Princely & Presidency States
Silver Dirham of Sultan Qalawun
A hand-struck Mamluk silver dirham of Sultan Qalawun of Egypt, covered on both faces with Arabic calligraphy and struck AD 1279–1290.
Islamic
Spanish Colonial 8 Reales (Milled Bust)
The milled-bust Spanish colonial 8 reales—the classic “piece of eight,” a large silver coin bearing the Spanish king's portrait and royal arms.
Colonial
Kotah State Rupee
Silver rupee of the princely state of Kotah in Rajputana, struck with Persian and Devanagari legends and the state's katar-dagger emblem.
Princely & Presidency States
Indonesia 5 Rupiah
A lightweight aluminum 5-rupiah coin of the Republic of Indonesia dated 2003, carrying the Garuda eagle emblem and the legend Bank Indonesia.
Southeast Asia
Netherlands East Indies 2 Cent
A wartime 1945 bronze 2-cent coin of the Dutch colony of the Netherlands East Indies, showing the crowned Netherlands shield and an ornate colonial reverse.
Southeast Asia
East India Company Quarter Anna
Large copper 1/4 anna of the East India Company dated 1835, with a heraldic lion-and-shield obverse and a laurel-wreath reverse.
British India
Dutch East Indies Duit
Small copper duit of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), showing the interlaced VOC monogram and a crowned provincial coat of arms, dated 1735.
Southeast Asia
Wu Zhu Cash
A round Han-dynasty bronze cash coin with a central square hole and two seal-script characters, Wu Zhu, naming its weight of five zhu.
Cash Coin
1 Pahlavi Gold Coin
A gold coin of Pahlavi-era Iran, with Persian text and a crowned royal emblem on one side and the Lion and Sun within laurel wreaths on the other.
Persia / Iran
Shanxi 2 Fen
A holed Republic-era Chinese copper 2 Fen struck for Shanxi Province, dated 1931, with a numeral 2 and Chinese legends around a central hole.
Circulation
Spanish Colonial Cob 1 Real
A small, crudely hand-struck silver cob of one real, made in Spain's American colonies with heraldic shield-and-cross designs.
Cob Coinage
Patacao
A Portuguese silver coin known as the patacao, a larger member of the pataca family, carrying the royal coat of arms and a crowned heraldic shield.
Circulation
Hong Kong 20 Cents
A small British Hong Kong silver 20 Cents of Edward VII, with the crowned royal profile on one side and a Chinese dragon and value on the other.
Circulation
Mughal Quarter-Rupee
A small hammered Mughal silver quarter-rupee inscribed in Persian, struck at the Lahore mint and dated Ilahi 47 (AD 1602-1603).
Historic
Half Escudo (800 Reis) of Joao V
A small Portuguese gold coin of King Joao V, valued at half an escudo (800 reis), with his laureate bust and a crowned Portuguese shield.
Colonial
Empire 20 Pesos
A gold 20 pesos of the Second Mexican Empire, showing a bearded imperial portrait, the legend IMPERIO MEXICANO, and a crowned heraldic coat of arms.
Circulation
1 Sol (Gold)
A 19th-century Peruvian 1 Sol note from El Banco de Piura, with a seated torch-bearer and a standing laborer flanking a bold UN SOL.
Circulation
2 Centavos
A copper Mexican 2 centavos with a large numeral 2 framed by a laurel wreath on one side and the national eagle with spread wings on the other.
Circulation
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
500 Yen Japanese Immigration Commemorative
A 2008 Japanese 500 yen commemorative marking 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil, with two figures on one side and a ship on the other.
Commemorative
10 Sen
A small Meiji-era Japanese silver 10 Sen: a coiled dragon and characters on one face, a rayed sunburst framed by branches on the other.
Circulation
1 Yen (Silver)
An early Meiji silver 1 Yen struck in Meiji 3 (1870), showing a coiled dragon with a radiant sun on one side and a wreathed imperial crest on the other.
Circulation
Nepalese Mohar
Silver mohar of the Nepalese Shah kingdom, with ornate Devanagari legends and auspicious symbols arranged around a mandala-style central design on both faces.
Himalayan