Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
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
Macao 100 Patacas Return to China Commemorative
A 1999 Macao 100 patacas commemorative marking the return to China: a Portuguese ship with a gold center on one side, the Macao coat of arms on the other.
Commemorative
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
George IV One Eighth Spanish Dollar
Small 1822 British colonial silver coin from the George IV "Anchor Money," a fraction of the Spanish dollar used in the West Indies and Mauritius.
Colonial
George IV One Quarter Spanish Dollar
An 1822 British colonial silver coin valued at one quarter of a Spanish dollar, part of the George IV "Anchor Money" issued for colonies in the Americas.
Colonial
Antoninianus
Roman imperial coin of the crisis era, marked by a radiate (spiked) crown on the emperor's head; struck in debased silver-and-copper billon, c. 250-270 AD.
Ancient Coins
Numapis Denarius
A silver denarius of the Roman Republic (1st century BC) pairing a male portrait facing right with a ship or galley and lettering on the reverse.
Ancient
Leif Erikson Commemorative 1000 Króna
Icelandic silver commemorative dated 2000, marking the millennium of Leif Erikson's voyage and the Norse discovery of North America.
Commemorative
2 Rigsdaler (Gold)
A gold striking of Denmark's 1863 2 rigsdaler, with the right-facing bust of Christian IX and the crowned royal arms — a rare early piece of his reign.
European
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 Krona (Gold)
A gold 1 krona of Sweden dated 1906, bearing the left-facing portrait of King Oscar II and the Swedish royal coat of arms with lions and three crowns.
Modern
1 Franc (Leopold II)
A late-19th-century Belgian silver franc of King Leopold II, with his left-facing profile on the obverse and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
1 Lats (Christmas Bells)
Latvian 2012 commemorative 1 Lats showing Christmas bells with decorative ornament, paired with the national coat of arms on the obverse.
Commemorative
Poltina (½ Rouble)
Silver half-rouble of Imperial Russia dated 1857, marked ПОЛТИНА on one side and bearing the crowned double-headed eagle of the Romanov empire.
Modern
100 Dinara
A copper-nickel 100 Dinara circulation coin of socialist Yugoslavia dated 1987, with a big numeral 100 on one face and the Yugoslav state emblem on the other.
Modern
Prinsendaalder (Rijksdaalder)
A large silver rijksdaalder of the Dutch Republic showing an armored bust with sword, popularly named the Prinsendaalder after the Prince of Orange.
Early 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
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
Escudo (Joanna and Charles V, contemporary copy)
A contemporary gilded copper-alloy copy imitating a Spanish gold escudo of Joanna and Charles V, made to pass as the real Habsburg gold coin.
Early Modern
20 Drachmai
Greece's 1884 gold 20 Drachmai of King George I: a small Latin Monetary Union gold coin with the king's portrait and the crowned royal arms.
Modern
5 Francs (First Republic)
A large silver 5-franc crown of the French First Republic, dated by the revolutionary calendar as L'an 9 (1800–1801), with a right-facing Liberty head.
Circulation