Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Napoleon III 20 Francs
French gold 20 francs of Emperor Napoleon III, showing his bare head facing right and a wreathed value on the reverse; example dated 1857.
World Coins
French Semeuse 1 Franc
France's classic silver 1 franc showing the Semeuse (Sower) with a liberty cap, backed by an oak-and-olive wreath around the value; this example is dated 1916.
Circulation
English Shilling
English silver shilling of William III, showing his right-facing laureate bust and a crowned cruciform-shield reverse; this example is dated 1692.
World Coin
Austrian Award Medal
A silver Austrian award medal with a crowned double-headed eagle bearing a coat of arms on the obverse and a decorative heraldic shield on the reverse.
Medal
Sixpence of James I
A hammered silver sixpence of James I of England: crowned profile bust with VI value mark, and a dated garnished shield over a cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Shilling of James I
Hammered silver shilling of King James I, showing his crowned left-facing bust and a quartered heraldic shield of England, Scotland, Ireland and France.
World Coins
Irish Gun Money Sixpence
A base-metal emergency sixpence struck for James II in Ireland during the Williamite War, its brass alloy cast from melted guns, bells, and scrap.
Emergency Coinage
Gold Mohur of Shah Jahan
High-purity gold mohur struck under Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658), bearing Persian imperial titles; this example carries the Balkh mint mark.
Mughal India
Anglo-Saxon Sceatta
Tiny thick silver coin of early Anglo-Saxon England, the example showing a stylized bird with geometric patterns and symbolic reverse designs.
Medieval Coins
Qiran of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
A hand-struck silver qiran of the Qajar shah Fath-Ali, carrying Persian calligraphy, a decorative border and crown motif, dated AH 1240–1241 (AD 1825–1826).
Persia / Iran
Ottoman Silver Coin
A silver coin of the Ottoman Empire bearing the sultan's tughra monogram amid floral ornament, with Arabic-script inscriptions on the reverse.
World
Tanzania 200 Shillings
A golden-brass circulating coin of the United Republic of Tanzania, showing a large African animal in grass with a bold 200 and a Swahili shilling legend.
World
Indian Paisa
A hand-struck copper paisa from early 19th-century India, its legends worn smooth by age and circulation. A humble base-metal coin of everyday commerce.
Princely & Presidency States
Gold Dinar of Al-Walid I
An early Islamic gold dinar struck under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I (705-715 CE), bearing only Arabic Kufic inscriptions and no images on either face.
Islamic (Medieval)
Cambodia Two Francs
A crown-sized Cambodian Two Francs of King Norodom I, its obverse a royal profile and DEUX FRANCS reverse over a crowned coat of arms; dated 1860 but long restruck.
Southeast Asia
Dirham of Samura ibn Jundab
An Arab-Sassanian silver dirham struck in the name of the early governor Samura ibn Jundab, keeping the Persian Shah bust and fire-altar design with added Arabic.
Islamic (Medieval)
Unattributed Gold Coin
A gold-colored coin of uncertain origin: a portrait with East Asian calligraphy on one face and a radiating sunburst within a decorative border on the other.
Unknown
Spanish Colonial Cob 8 Reales
A hand-struck silver cob 8 reales of Spain's American colonies—the irregular, hammered “piece of eight” bearing the crowned Habsburg arms and Pillars of Hercules.
Cob Coinage
Puebla 20 Centavos
A copper 20 centavos struck in the State of Puebla during the Mexican Revolution, showing a profile bust and the numeral 20 with the national eagle, dated 1915.
Revolutionary
Oaxaca 5 Centavos
A copper 5-centavos struck by the sovereign State of Oaxaca during the Mexican Revolution, with a profile bust on the obverse and the numeral 5 in a wreath on the reverse.
Revolutionary
Manchukuo 1 Fen
A small bronze 1 fen from Manchukuo, dated 1944, with a large numeral 1 and Chinese inscriptions on one side and an ornamental circular design on the other.
Circulation
Gallic Imitation Stater
A gold stater struck by the tribes of Gaul, whose stylized head and single horse descend from Greek Macedonian prototypes reworked into abstract Celtic art.
Ancient
Denarius of Cordius
Roman Republican silver denarius struck by the moneyer Manius Cordius Rufus, with a right-facing head on the obverse and a standing figure and CORDIVS legend on the reverse.
Ancient
10 Lepta (Phoenix)
A copper 10 lepta of the first independent Greek state, dated 1828, showing the Phoenix rising from flames beneath a cross against the value within an oak wreath.
Modern