Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
20 Francs Napoleon
A small 21 mm French gold coin bearing Napoleon III's profile and a wreathed 20 FRANCS reverse — the classic gold Napoleon, here dated 1857.
Bullion
British Sixpence
Small British silver sixpence (6d); this example is an 1888 Queen Victoria 'Jubilee head' with the crowned, veiled bust.
British Isles
Morgan Dollar
U.S. 90% silver dollar struck 1878–1904 and again in 1921, with George T. Morgan's Liberty head and a spread-winged eagle reverse.
Dollar
Shah Jahan Rupee
Hand-struck silver rupee of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, all-Persian calligraphy in ornate cartouches, dated AH 1064 (AD 1653-1654).
Mughal India
Susan B. Anthony Dollar
U.S. small-size copper-nickel clad dollar coin (1979–1981, 1999) featuring suffragist Susan B. Anthony and an eagle landing on the moon.
Dollar
Pine Tree Shilling
Silver shilling from the Boston mint, struck about 1667–1674 but dated 1652, showing a pine tree beside the legend MASSACHUSETTS.
Colonial
British Florin
A Victorian silver two-shilling florin with a crowned, veiled Victoria and a heraldic crowned-shields reverse; the pictured coin is dated 1890.
World
Central American Republic 8 Reales
A silver 8 reales of the Central American Republic, showing a rayed sun rising over mountains on one side and a tree on the other, dated 1824.
Circulation
Aratame Sanbu Sadame
A round silver-colored coin with a coiled dragon and the inscription Aratame Sanbu Sadame on one face and a radiating sun on the other, dated 1859.
Historic
Barber Dime
U.S. ten-cent silver coin struck 1892–1916, showing a right-facing Liberty head and a wreath enclosing "ONE DIME" on the reverse.
Dime
Denarius of Julia Domna
Roman silver denarius of the empress Julia Domna (193-217 CE), with her draped bust and a standing goddess or personification on the reverse.
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
Denarius of Antoninus Pius
Silver denarius of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD), with his laureate portrait facing right and a legend-and-figure reverse.
Ancient
Joachimsthaler (Thaler)
A large early-16th-century Bohemian silver thaler from Joachimsthal, dated 1525; the coin whose name gave rise to the words 'thaler' and 'dollar'.
Early Modern
Prussian Taler
A large silver taler of the Kingdom of Prussia showing the crowned profile of Frederick II and a heraldic coat of arms, struck through the mid-to-late 1700s.
German States
Bavaria 3 Mark
A silver 3 Mark tied to Bavaria, pairing the crowned Bavarian shield with its rampant lion against a German imperial eagle, dated 1925.
Circulation
Teston of Henri II
A French Renaissance silver teston of Henri II (1547-1559): the king's realistic profile bust right, a crowned fleur-de-lis coat of arms on the reverse.
Renaissance
Ecu of Louis XVI
A large French silver ecu of Louis XVI dated 1784: left-facing royal bust obverse, crowned arms of France and Navarre framed by laurel on the reverse.
Royal
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation
30 Sols (Half Ecu)
A French Revolutionary silver 30 sols of 1791: profile of Louis XVI as 'Roi des Francais' obverse, standing Liberty reverse dated 'L'An 4 de la Liberte'.
Revolutionary
Barbados 25 Cents
A copper-nickel Caribbean circulation coin of Barbados; the 1998 example shows the national coat of arms on the obverse and the 25-cent value on the reverse.
Circulation
Victoria Maundy Twopence
A tiny sterling-silver ceremonial coin from a Royal Maundy set. This 1845 example shows Victoria's young head and a crowned 2 in a wreath.
British Isles
Edward IV Half Groat
Hammered silver half groat (twopence) of Edward IV, with a crowned royal bust and a long-cross reverse, struck at English mints between 1461 and 1483.
Medieval Coins
Indian Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin of 1908–1929 with a sunken (incuse) design: an Indian in a feathered war bonnet on the obverse and a standing eagle reverse.
Quarter Eagle