Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
East African 1 Cent
A small holed copper 1 Cent of British East Africa dated 1924, with a crown and decorative rings on one face and the value framing the central hole on the other.
World
Hanover-Luneburg 1.5 Thaler
A large silver 1.5 Thaler of Brunswick-Luneburg (Hanover), dated 1681, with a busy multi-shield heraldic design and the motto SOL BONA QUE HONESTA.
German States
Austria-Hungary 1/4 Kreuzer
A small copper 1/4 Kreuzer of the Austrian Empire dated 1816, showing Emperor Franz I in crowned right-facing profile.
Circulation
French West Africa 1 Franc
A lightweight aluminum 1 Franc dated 1948 for French West Africa, with an allegorical female head on the obverse and the value framed by AFRIQUE-OCCIDENTALE FRANCAISE on the reverse.
World
Spanish Colonial Cob 1 Real
A small, crudely hand-struck silver cob of one real, made in Spain's American colonies with heraldic shield-and-cross designs.
Cob Coinage
German East Africa 1 Rupie
A silver colonial rupee of German East Africa bearing the imperial eagle shield and the legend DEUTSCH OSTAFRIKA, struck for the German protectorate.
World
Medieval Coin
A worn hammered silver coin of the medieval era, with faded profile, legends, and a heraldic or emblematic reverse.
Hammered
Massachusetts Shilling (1 Shilling 6 Pence)
A colonial-era Massachusetts silver piece valued at one shilling and sixpence, joining a pine-tree obverse with a rising-sun reverse and the date 1779.
Colonial
Silver Dirham (LACMA M.2002.1.437)
A thin, broad 8th-century Islamic silver dirham covered in Kufic Arabic inscriptions, with no portrait or image — only religious legends and decorative flourishes.
Islamic (Medieval)
Glycon Bronze Coin
Roman provincial bronze of the 2nd century AD showing the snake-god Glycon: a bearded serpent head on one side and a coiled snake on the other.
Ancient
Ancient Roman Coin
An unattributed ancient bronze coin of the Roman Empire, showing a right-facing portrait head on the obverse and a figure or heraldic design on the reverse.
Ancient
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
Indian Silver Coin
A silver coin of British India bearing Persian/Urdu calligraphy and a mint mark, in the Mughal-derived inscriptional style of Company-era coinage.
British India
Bahawalpur Gold Coin
A gold coin or medallic piece linked to the princely state of Bahawalpur, its obverse bearing a uniformed royal portrait and its reverse an ornate coat of arms.
South Asia
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
Unidentified Ancient Coin
A worn ancient bronze coin whose exact type is not yet identifiable — a right-facing profile portrait on one side and a faded design on the other.
Ancient
Scottish Coin (Uncertain)
A worn hammered copper-alloy Scottish coin, apparently of the reign of Charles I, showing a bearded profile and a heraldic reverse with lettering.
Hammered
Najd Silver Coin
Silver trade coin catalogued to Najd, central Arabia, bearing a left-facing Victoria Queen bust and an 1862 date in the British India rupee style.
Arabia
Gustav I Silver Coin
Early-Renaissance Swedish silver of Gustav I Vasa (r. 1523–1560), pairing a crowned armored royal bust with a crowned heraldic lion.
Medieval
Bronze Coin of Corinth (Augustan)
A Roman colonial bronze struck at Corinth during the reign of Augustus, showing a laureate imperial portrait; the example here has a badly corroded reverse.
Ancient
Coin Weight for Louis d'Or
A small bronze monetary weight used to verify a gold Louis d'Or on a balance, showing a worn royal profile and a heraldic reverse.
Token/weight
Half Pahlavi Gold Coin
A small Iranian gold coin worth half a Pahlavi, showing Reza Shah in a military cap on one side and the Lion and Sun with a crown on the other.
Persia / Iran
Venezuelan Silver Coin (1879)
An 1879 Venezuelan silver coin: the left-facing head of Simón Bolívar on one side and the national coat of arms in a wreath on the other.
Circulation
Qi State Knife Coin
A cast bronze knife-shaped coin of the ancient state of Qi, with Chinese characters running down the curved blade and a ringed handle terminal.
Ancient