Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Papua New Guinea 5 Kina
Papua New Guinea's 1975 five-kina coin: Queen Elizabeth II in profile on the obverse, a bird-of-paradise with the K5 denomination on the reverse.
Circulation
Gibraltar Crown
A 1982 Gibraltar cupro-nickel crown marking the christening of Prince William, showing the Queen Mother and Princess Diana with the infant prince.
Commemorative
Henry VII Sovereign
The first English gold sovereign, struck under Henry VII, showing the crowned king enthroned in majesty on an elaborate Gothic throne.
Medieval Coins
Kenya 1 Shilling
A circulating one-shilling coin of the Republic of Kenya bearing President Jomo Kenyatta on the obverse and the Kenyan coat of arms on the reverse.
World
Saudi Arabian Silver Riyal
A large, portrait-free silver coin of King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, covered in Arabic legends and a state seal — a cornerstone of early Saudi coinage.
World
Tanzania 500 Shillings
A modern base-metal circulating coin of Tanzania carrying a right-facing portrait long associated with the nation's founding president and a Kiswahili legend.
World
Lysimachos Gold Stater
Gold stater of Lysimachos, king in Thrace and Macedon c. 305-281 BC, with a deified head of Alexander the Great and an enthroned Athena reverse.
Ancient
Aigina Turtle Stater
Thick silver stater of the island of Aigina, c. 480-456 BC, with a sea turtle on the obverse and a divided incuse punch on the reverse.
Ancient
French Half Ecu (Demi-Ecu)
A silver half ecu of Louis XVI dated 1792, with his bust left and a standing winged genius reverse reading L'AN 4 DE LA LIBERTE.
Royal
Anglo-Saxon Styca
A tiny base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, struck in the 8th-9th century with a head and inscription on one side and a cross on the other.
Medieval Coins
Spanish Doubloon (8 Escudos)
Large Spanish gold coin worth eight escudos, showing the right-facing bust of King Charles IV and a crowned Spanish shield with a cross.
World Coins
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
Antiochos IV Epiphanes Tetradrachm
Large silver tetradrachm of the Seleucid king Antiochos IV Epiphanes, 175-164 BC, with his diademed head and an enthroned deity reverse.
Ancient
Philip II Tetradrachm
A large silver coin of the Macedonian kingdom showing the laureate head of Zeus and a youthful horseman, struck under and after Philip II.
Ancient
Hoxne Hoard Siliqua
A small late-Roman silver siliqua of the type found in Britain's Hoxne Hoard, with an imperial portrait and a standing figure or personified virtue.
Ancient
Trinidad and Tobago 5 Cents
A bronze five-cent coin of Trinidad and Tobago showing a perched bird — the Greater Bird of Paradise, often mistaken for a parrot — with FIVE CENTS on the reverse.
Circulation
Broad
A gold twenty-shilling coin of the Protectorate bearing Oliver Cromwell's Roman-style profile and a crowned quartered shield, dated 1656.
Hammered
Bahawalpur Gold Coin
A gold coin or medallic piece linked to the princely state of Bahawalpur, its obverse bearing a uniformed royal portrait and its reverse an ornate coat of arms.
South Asia
India 1 Rupee Commemorative
Copper-nickel Republic of India one rupee showing the Ashoka Lion Capital emblem, with the value and Devanagari legends on the reverse, from the late 20th century.
Modern India
New Zealand Waitangi Crown
New Zealand's first and rarest crown, a 1935 silver five-shilling piece with a crowned George V obverse and the Treaty of Waitangi handshake reverse.
New Zealand
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
Antigonos II Gonatas Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the Macedonian king Antigonos II Gonatas, c. 275-270 BC, with a bearded royal head and a seated Nike holding a wreath.
Ancient
Livonian Order Schilling
A small hammered silver schilling of the medieval Livonian Order, showing heraldic shields and a cross, struck in the Baltic around 1410–1415.
Medieval
Real (Medieval)
A medieval Spanish silver real carrying the heraldic arms of the Iberian kingdoms — a lion for León paired with a castle or cross design.
Medieval