Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Persian Gold Toman (Qajar)
The principal gold coin of Qajar Persia, valued at ten silver kran, struck under a succession of shahs from the late 18th century until the dynasty's end in 1925.
Asian
South African ZAR Kruger Pond
Gold pound-equivalent coin of the old South African Republic (Transvaal) under President Paul Kruger, notable for its wagon reverse and the rare 'single shaft' variety.
Africa & Oceania
Belgian 5 Francs
A large silver crown of the newly independent Kingdom of Belgium, bearing the portrait of Leopold I or Leopold II and the national coat of arms, a flagship coin of the young nation's currency.
European
Bavaria Thaler
The historic large silver coin of Bavaria, struck across centuries by its electors and kings, capturing the state's political and artistic history until Germany's currency unification in the 1870s.
European
Tibetan Silver Srang (Ganden Tangka type)
A native Tibetan silver coin issued by the Ganden Phodrang government in Lhasa, featuring the Tibetan snow lion and traditional Tibetan script rather than Chinese imperial designs.
Asian
English Crown
A large English silver coin worth five shillings, first struck under Henry VIII, that became one of Britain's most artistically celebrated denominations before decimalization.
British
Chinese Szechuan Rupee (Tibet-related)
Silver rupee struck by China's Szechuan provincial mint to compete with British Indian rupees circulating in Tibet, blending a Chinese ruler's portrait with an Indian-style coin format.
Asian
Trajan Decius Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Trajan Decius, remembered for his empire-wide persecution of Christians and his death in battle against the Goths, and for a famous series honoring deified past emperors.
Ancient
Nero Denarius
The silver coin of the notorious emperor Nero, whose AD 64 currency reform slightly reduced the denarius's silver content and weight, a step in the long history of Roman debasement.
Ancient
Pergamon Cistophoric Tetradrachm
A reduced-weight Hellenistic silver coin introduced by the Attalid kings of Pergamon, named for the sacred cista mystica chest depicted on the obverse and later adopted throughout Roman Asia.
Ancient
American Gold Eagle
The official U.S. gold bullion coin series since 1986, pairing Augustus Saint-Gaudens' famous Liberty design with a family-of-eagles reverse, issued in four sizes.
Bullion
Indian Gold Mohur
The traditional high-value gold coin of the Indian subcontinent, struck for centuries by Mughal emperors, later by the British East India Company, British India, and various princely states.
Asian
Indian Head Gold Quarter Eagle ($2.50)
A small early 20th-century $2.50 gold coin notable for its incuse design and Native American war bonnet portrait, designed by sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt.
United States
Indian Head Cent
A long-running 19th-century one-cent coin depicting Liberty in a Native American-style feathered headdress, popular with collectors for its accessible half-century run.
United States
Testoon
The earliest English coin to carry a realistic royal portrait, introduced under Henry VII around 1487 as the forerunner of the shilling, later continued and debased under Henry VIII.
British
Quarter Guinea
A rarely issued small gold coin worth one-quarter of a guinea, struck only in 1718 under George I and again briefly in 1762 under George III.
British
Panama-Pacific Quarter Eagle Commemorative
A 1915 commemorative gold coin honoring the Panama-Pacific Exposition, showing Liberty riding a hippocampus (sea horse), symbolizing the Panama Canal's linking of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Commemorative
Caracalla Antoninianus
The first antoninianus coins, introduced by Caracalla in 215 AD as a debased double-denarius identified by the emperor's radiate crown.
Ancient
Polish-Lithuanian Thaler
The large silver trade coin of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, struck under successive kings from the 16th through 18th centuries, bearing royal portraits paired with the combined Polish eagle and Lithuanian Vytis arms.
European
South African Republic Burgers Pond
The first coin struck for an independent South African state, issued in 1874 under President Thomas Burgers of the Transvaal, famous for its 'coarse beard' and 'fine beard' portrait varieties.
Africa & Oceania
Visigothic Gold Tremissis
Small gold coin of the Visigothic kings of Spain, evolving from crude imitations of Roman/Byzantine coinage into the first distinctly national royal coinage of post-Roman Western Europe.
European
Italian 5 Lire Silver
The silver 5 Lire was the largest circulating silver coin of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, featuring the portraits of its early kings and the national eagle, and remains a favorite of Italian collectors.
European
English Sovereign of Henry VII
The first English sovereign, introduced by Henry VII in 1489 as a large, prestigious gold coin showing the king enthroned in majesty, meant to project royal power after the Wars of the Roses.
British
Victoria Ten Cents (dime)
Canada's early silver ten-cent coin issued under Queen Victoria, struck intermittently from the introduction of decimal currency in 1858 through the end of her reign in 1901.
Canadian