Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Penny of Alfred the Great
Hand-struck silver penny of Alfred the Great of Wessex, showing a right-facing royal bust and a cross-based reverse with a moneyer's inscription.
Medieval Coins
Denarius of the Pompeia Family
Silver Roman Republican denarius of the Pompeia family, with a male portrait head and a Victory driving a chariot on the reverse.
Ancient
Denarius of Faustina the Elder
A silver Roman denarius honoring Faustina the Elder, wife of Antoninus Pius, with her draped bust and a seated Fortuna reverse, struck c. 141–161 AD.
Ancient
Crown of the Double Rose
A hammered Tudor gold crown of Henry VIII, valued at five shillings and named for the crowned double Tudor rose that defines its design.
Hammered
Penny of Offa
Thin silver penny of King Offa of Mercia, showing a portrait or name inscription and a cross with geometric ornament on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
Denier of Charles the Bald
A small hammered silver denier of the Carolingian king Charles the Bald (r. 840–877), pairing a cross or monogram design with a ruler's profile.
Medieval
Solidus of Constantine I the Great
Constantine the Great's gold solidus, a high-purity coin struck from about AD 309 that became the standard of late Roman and Byzantine gold.
Ancient
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
Drachm of Antiochos II Theos
Silver drachm struck under Antiochos II Theos of the Seleukid realm, showing a seated helmeted Athena and, on the reverse, Nike beside an altar.
Ancient
Unite of James I
A hammered gold pound coin of James I, named to celebrate the union of England and Scotland under one crown.
Hammered
Denarius of Otho
Silver denarius of the emperor Otho, struck at Rome during his brief AD 69 reign, showing his bare head right with the legend IMP OTHO CAESAR.
Ancient
Styca of Eanred
Small base-metal coin of King Eanred of Northumbria, with a cross and legend on one face and a central symbolic motif on the other.
Medieval Coins
Ecu of Louis XVI
A large French silver ecu of Louis XVI dated 1784: left-facing royal bust obverse, crowned arms of France and Navarre framed by laurel on the reverse.
Royal
Aureus of Constantine I the Great
A Roman gold aureus struck for Constantine I the Great, showing his laureate portrait, from the era of his rise to sole power around AD 313.
Ancient
Denarius of Faustina the Younger
Roman Imperial silver denarius of Faustina the Younger, showing her draped bust with an elaborate curled hairstyle and a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Isle of Man Crown
A 1976 Isle of Man cupronickel crown marking the centenary of the Douglas horse trams, showing a horse-drawn tram beneath an archway on the reverse.
Commemorative
Shilling of Anne
A machine-struck silver shilling of Queen Anne, with her draped bust facing right and a reverse of crowned shields bearing the royal arms in a cross.
Milled
Isle of Man Noble
The Isle of Man Noble: the world's first platinum bullion coin, pairing a crowned Queen Elizabeth II with a Viking longship reverse.
Bullion
Miliarense of Leo I
Eastern Roman silver miliarensis of Leo I (AD 457-474), showing his diademed bust and a standing military figure with spear and shield.
Ancient
Follis of Crispus
A small bronze follis of Crispus, eldest son of Constantine the Great, with his diademed bust and a winged Victory reverse (317-326 AD).
Ancient
Teston of Henri II
A French Renaissance silver teston of Henri II (1547-1559): the king's realistic profile bust right, a crowned fleur-de-lis coat of arms on the reverse.
Renaissance
Guinea of George II
A milled gold guinea of Great Britain struck during the reign of George II, with a left-facing royal bust and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
Milled
Dirham of al-Mahdi
A silver Abbasid dirham struck under Caliph al-Mahdi in AH 166 (783 CE), its faces filled with linear Kufic Arabic legends declaring the Islamic faith.
Islamic (Medieval)
Gold Mohur of Akbar
Aniconic gold coin of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), struck in Persian calligraphy in the Ilahi coinage style.
Mughal India