Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Guangxu Yuanbao Dollar
A crown-sized silver dragon dollar of Qing China inscribed 光緒元寶 (Guangxu Yuanbao), with a coiled dragon reverse and a provincial mint inscription; this piece dated 1905.
CirculationPenny of Cynethryth
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of Cynethryth, queen of Mercia and wife of Offa, and the only Anglo-Saxon queen named on her own coinage.
Medieval CoinsIrish Groat of Henry VIII
A hand-hammered silver fourpence struck for Ireland under Henry VIII, famed for introducing the crowned harp to Irish coinage.
Hammered20 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.
CirculationAntoninianus of Caracalla
The antoninianus introduced by Caracalla around AD 215, a radiate-crowned double denarius in debased silver that reshaped Roman coinage.
Ancient5 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.
HistoricGuangxu 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.
CirculationGuangxu 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.
CirculationAntiochos the Child Tetradrachm
Silver Seleucid tetradrachm, c. 175 BC, with a young diademed head and a martial reverse figure with spear and shield.
AncientAustralian Sixpence
Small silver sixpence of the Commonwealth of Australia; this 1935 piece carries the crowned bust of King George V.
AustralianMary 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.
HammeredSwiss 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.
World20 Kronor
Gold 20 kronor of Sweden showing the crowned national arms with three coronets, reverse marked 20 KR and dated 1925.
World4 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 ModernFrench Semeuse 2 Francs
French Third Republic silver 2 francs showing Roty's striding Sower (Semeuse); the pictured example is dated 1899.
CirculationMedieval 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 IslesSestertius 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.
AncientRoman 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.
Ancient5 Aurar
Icelandic bronze 5 aurar of the Kingdom era, marked ÍSLAND with a crowned KONUNGDÓMUR ÍSLANDS reverse, struck 1926-1942.
World20 Reales (Isabel II)
Crown-sized Spanish silver 20 Reales of Queen Isabel II, with her crowned right-facing profile and a crowned pillared shield, dated 1854.
ModernFrench 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.
RoyalGerman 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.
CirculationJ. Shaw & Co. Hardware Token
Copper halfpenny-sized merchant token advertising J. Shaw & Co., importers of hardware in Upper Town, issued around the 1850s.
Canadian & ProvincialCanadian 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