Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
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
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
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
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
Halve Rijksdaalder van Leicester
Silver half rijksdaalder of the Leicester type, struck in the rebelling Dutch provinces, showing an armored bust and a split provincial shield.
Early Modern
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
France 20 Centimes
A small gold-colored French Fifth Republic coin showing Marianne in profile, worth one-fifth of a franc, struck for four decades before the euro.
Circulation
British Penny
Large bronze pre-decimal British penny showing King George VI in profile, struck for circulation in the 1930s through early 1950s.
World Coins
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
Newfoundland Five Cents
Tiny sterling-silver 5-cent piece of the Dominion of Newfoundland; the 1929 issue bears King George V and a crowned denomination reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
New Zealand Sixpence
New Zealand's small silver sixpence, famed for its native-bird reverse. This 1934 example shows King George V and the bird design with NEW ZEALAND SIXPENCE.
New Zealand
Godless Florin
Britain's first florin, struck only in 1849 and nicknamed "Godless" because it dropped "Dei Gratia" from Queen Victoria's titles.
British Isles
Canadian Two Dollar (Toonie)
Canada's bimetallic $2 coin, introduced in 1996 with a polar bear design; universally nicknamed the 'toonie' after the loonie dollar.
Canadian & Provincial
British Brass Threepence
Chunky twelve-sided nickel-brass threepence of George VI, showing his head and a thrift plant reverse; the example shown is dated 1942.
British Isles
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
Liberty Head Half Eagle
United States $5 gold coin with a left-facing Liberty head ringed by stars and a spread-winged eagle reverse; the pictured piece is dated 1838.
United States
Japanese 5 Yen
Small Meiji-era Japanese gold coin with an imperial chrysanthemum and characters on the obverse and a floral wreath framing the 5 Yen value.
World Coins
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
Buyid Silver Dirham
Broad, thin silver dirham of the Buyid (Buwayhid) dynasty, struck in Kufic Arabic with religious legends and marginal mint-and-date text.
Medieval Islamic
Cape Verde 100 Escudos
A bi-metallic Cape Verde 100 escudos with a botanical theme, its silver-colored center showing the endemic Aeonium gorgoneum plant.
World
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
East Africa Protectorate 1 Cent
A small holed one-cent coin of the British East Africa Protectorate, struck in base metal with a crowned, portrait-free design around a central hole.
World