Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Thebes Stater
Silver stater of Thebes with the Boeotian shield and a bearded head of Dionysos, struck as federal coinage of the Boeotian League, c. 395-338 BC.
Ancient
20 Soles de Oro
A Peruvian gold 20 soles de oro showing a seated Liberty with crown, torch and radiant sun, part of Peru's mid-20th-century gold coinage.
Circulation
Antoninianus of Caracalla
The antoninianus introduced by Caracalla around AD 215, a radiate-crowned double denarius in debased silver that reshaped Roman coinage.
Ancient
5 Yang
A late-Joseon Korean 5 Yang in bronze: a floral, chrysanthemum-and-taegeuk obverse paired with a coiled dragon and ornamental characters on the reverse.
Historic
Guangxu Yuanbao 50 Cents
A Qing-dynasty silver half-dollar bearing the legend Guangxu Yuanbao and a coiled dragon, struck by Chinese provincial mints during the Guangxu Emperor's reign.
Circulation
Guangxu Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A silver Chinese dragon dollar of the Guangxu era, marked Guangxu Yuanbao and valued at 7 Mace 2 Candareens, with a coiled dragon on one face and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation
Antiochos the Child Tetradrachm
Silver Seleucid tetradrachm, c. 175 BC, with a young diademed head and a martial reverse figure with spear and shield.
Ancient
Australian Sixpence
Small silver sixpence of the Commonwealth of Australia; this 1935 piece carries the crowned bust of King George V.
Australian
Mary I Groat
Hammered silver fourpence of Mary I (1553-1558), with her crowned bust left and the royal arms over a cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Swiss 5 Francs
Large .900 silver Swiss crown of 1888–1916, showing a Helvetia head on one face and the Swiss cross shield within a wreath on the other.
World
20 Kronor
Gold 20 kronor of Sweden showing the crowned national arms with three coronets, reverse marked 20 KR and dated 1925.
World
4 Escudos
Spanish Bourbon gold 4 Escudos of the 1780s, with an armored royal bust facing right and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Early Modern
French Semeuse 2 Francs
French Third Republic silver 2 francs showing Roty's striding Sower (Semeuse); the pictured example is dated 1899.
Circulation
France 2 Euro D-Day Anniversary Commemorative
A 2014 French bi-metallic 2 euro commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, dated 1944-2014 with a ring of EU stars.
Commemorative
Medieval Penny of Edward III
A hammered silver penny of Edward III (1327–1377): a crowned facing royal bust on one side and a long cross with pellets on the other.
British Isles
Sestertius of Commodus
A large Roman bronze sestertius of Emperor Commodus (180–192 AD), his laureate bearded head on one side and a standing figure on the other.
Ancient
Roman Republican Denarius (Unidentified)
A silver Roman Republican denarius of about 115-114 BC: helmeted Roma on the obverse, Victory driving a two-horse chariot on the reverse.
Ancient
5 Aurar
Icelandic bronze 5 aurar of the Kingdom era, marked ÍSLAND with a crowned KONUNGDÓMUR ÍSLANDS reverse, struck 1926-1942.
World
German 5 Reichsmark (Hindenburg)
German silver 5 Reichsmark of the Third Reich, pairing a portrait of Paul von Hindenburg with an eagle-and-swastika reverse; dated 1936.
Circulation
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
J. Shaw & Co. Hardware Token
Copper halfpenny-sized merchant token advertising J. Shaw & Co., importers of hardware in Upper Town, issued around the 1850s.
Canadian & Provincial
Canadian Five Cents (Nickel)
Canada's five-cent 'nickel,' with G.E. Kruger Gray's beaver reverse. This 1987 example pairs the beaver with an Elizabeth II portrait.
Canadian & Provincial
Philip and Mary Shilling
Hammered silver shilling of Philip II of Spain and Mary I (1554-1558), showing their paired royal busts and a crowned quartered shield of arms.
Hammered
Penny of Cnut
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of King Cnut (Canute), showing a diademed bust facing left with a cross-and-pellets reverse, struck c.1024-1030.
Medieval Coins