Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Valens Siliqua
A thin silver siliqua of Valens, eastern Roman emperor who died at the disastrous Battle of Adrianople against the Goths in 378 AD.
Ancient
Constantine CONSTANTINOPOLIS Commemorative
A small bronze commemorative celebrating the founding of Constantinople, showing Victory standing on a ship's prow on the reverse.
Ancient
Ephesus Bee Tetradrachm
A silver coin from the Ionian city of Ephesus featuring a bee, sacred symbol of the great Temple of Artemis, paired with a stag on the reverse.
Ancient
Rhodes Rose and Helios Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm from the island of Rhodes, pairing a radiant frontal head of the sun god Helios with the island's punning emblem, a rose.
Ancient
Ottoman Para
A small fractional Ottoman coin, historically 1/40 of a kurus, struck for centuries in varying metals as the empire's lowest everyday denomination.
World
Persian Kran (Qajar silver)
The standard silver coin of Qajar Persia, worth one-tenth of a gold toman, widely struck under Naser al-Din Shah and later rulers and commonly seen with the lion-and-sun emblem.
Asian
Mexican Libertad
Mexico's flagship bullion coin, featuring the Angel of Independence on the obverse and the national coat of arms on the reverse, prized for its classic design and high purity.
Bullion
Straits Settlements Dollar
The official silver dollar of Britain's Straits Settlements colony, bearing the reigning monarch's portrait and trilingual denomination on the reverse.
Asian
Australian Silver Koala
A Perth Mint silver bullion coin featuring an annually changing depiction of the koala, launched in 2007 as a companion series to the long-running Silver Kookaburra.
Bullion
Australian Silver Kookaburra
An annually redesigned Australian silver bullion coin issued since 1990, featuring a different depiction of the native kookaburra bird each year.
Bullion
Uruguay Peso Silver 'Artigas'
A silver Uruguayan peso honoring national founding hero Jose Gervasio Artigas, struck in the early twentieth century as part of Uruguay's circulating coinage.
Latin American
Brazilian 20000 Reis Gold
The highest-value gold coin of the Empire of Brazil, struck intermittently under Emperor Pedro II to support the country's monetary reserves and international trade.
Latin American
Japanese Bunkyu Eiho (cash coin)
A late Edo-period Japanese cash coin worth 4 mon, larger than the common Kan'ei Tsūhō, issued in the final years of the Tokugawa Shogunate to help ease chronic small-coin shortages.
Asian
Vietnamese Gia Long Thong Bao (cash coin)
The founding cash coin of Vietnam's Nguyễn Dynasty, cast under Emperor Gia Long who reunified the country in 1802 and established Huế as the imperial capital.
Asian
Chinese Fengtien Province Dragon Dollar
Silver dragon dollar struck by the provincial mint of Fengtien in Manchuria during the late Qing dynasty, notable for several rare dated varieties.
Asian
Netherlands Lion Daalder (Leeuwendaalder)
A large silver trade coin of the Dutch provinces showing a knight and a rampant lion, widely circulated in colonial North America and the Ottoman world as the prototype 'lion dollar.'
European
Chinese Cash Coin (Qing Dynasty 'Kangxi Tongbao')
Classic cast bronze cash coin bearing the reign title of Emperor Kangxi, struck across many provincial mints during one of the longest reigns in Chinese history.
Asian
Japanese Oban
A large, oval, hand-hammered gold plate coin of feudal Japan, used mainly as a gift, reward, or ceremonial item rather than everyday currency, among the largest gold coins ever issued.
Asian
Netherlands 5 Gulden Gold
A gold 5 gulden coin struck intermittently by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, first under King William I in the 1820s and later as a rare 1912 commemorative under Queen Wilhelmina.
European
1967 Centennial Gold $20 Coin
A gold $20 coin struck to mark the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 1967, sold mainly to collectors as part of the country's centennial commemorative coinage.
Commemorative
1958 British Columbia Totem Pole Dollar
A commemorative Canadian silver dollar marking the centennial of the founding of the Colony of British Columbia in 1858, its reverse featuring a totem pole design.
Canadian
Gupta Empire Gold Dinar
Richly detailed gold coins of India's classical Gupta Empire, depicting kings as archers, horsemen, or lyrists, and often paired with a goddess on the reverse.
Ancient
Farthing
The smallest-value British bronze coin, worth a quarter of a penny, fondly remembered for its charming wren reverse design used from 1937 until its withdrawal.
British
1936 Dot Cent
One of Canada's rarest coins: a 1936-dated cent quietly struck in 1937 with a tiny raised dot below the date after King Edward VIII's abdication delayed new George VI dies.
Canadian