Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Half Crown
A long-lived British coin worth one-eighth of a pound, struck from the Tudor era until decimalisation in 1970, valued today mainly for its portraits and design variety.
British
Half Guinea
Smaller companion gold coin to the guinea, worth half its value, struck across the same reigns from Charles II through George III for mid-value transactions.
British
Gold Half Sovereign
Smaller companion to the gold sovereign, struck since 1817 at half the weight and value, sharing the same monarch portraits and often the same St George reverse design.
British
Maundy Twopence
A small silver twopence struck each year as part of the Royal Maundy set, historically descended from the medieval silver half groat and still distributed in the annual royal alms ceremony.
British
Straits Settlements Silver Dollar
A large British colonial silver dollar struck for Singapore, Penang, and Malacca, created to give the Straits Settlements a standardized coin after decades of competing foreign trade dollars.
Asian
1921 Peace Dollar (High Relief)
The debut issue of the Peace dollar, struck in dramatic high relief that proved difficult to mint, commemorating peace after World War I.
United States
New Zealand Florin (pre-decimal)
New Zealand's pre-decimal florin, famous for its kiwi-bird reverse design, circulated from 1933 until decimalization replaced it with the 20-cent coin in 1967.
Africa & Oceania
Gold Sovereign
Iconic British gold pound coin, revived in 1817 with Benedict Pistrucci's celebrated St George and the Dragon design, struck for centuries in London and branch mints worldwide.
British
Crown
Large British coin traditionally worth five shillings, historically struck in silver and famed for elaborate designs, now issued mainly as a cupro-nickel commemorative.
British
Cartwheel Twopence (1797)
An enormous two-ounce copper twopence struck in 1797, the largest coin ever produced for circulation in Britain, made famous for its heavy raised cartwheel-style rim.
British
Royal Mint £5 Crown Commemorative
The modern British £5 coin descends from the historic crown and is issued almost exclusively for commemorative purposes, marking royal events, anniversaries, and national milestones.
Commemorative
Straits Settlements Dollar
The official silver dollar of Britain's Straits Settlements colony, bearing the reigning monarch's portrait and trilingual denomination on the reverse.
Asian
Hong Kong Dollar (1866–1868 Silver Dollar)
A short-lived silver dollar struck at Britain's ill-fated Hong Kong Mint, bearing Queen Victoria's portrait and intended to compete with Mexican and Chinese silver in Asian trade.
Asian
Celtic Gold Stater
Iron Age gold coins struck by Celtic tribes across Gaul and Britain, evolving from close imitations of Macedonian staters into strikingly abstract, stylized designs.
Ancient
Spanish 2 Reales Pillar
The Pillar 2 Reales was a fractional Spanish colonial silver coin featuring the famous Pillars of Hercules design, struck at mints across Spanish America and widely used in international trade.
Latin American
Mexican 8 Reales Pillar Dollar
Minted in colonial Mexico City from 1732 to the early 1770s, the pillar dollar's crowned globes and Pillars of Hercules design made it one of the most widely trusted silver trade coins in the world.
Latin American
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) EIC Rixdollar
A colonial currency unit continued by the British East India Company administration in Ceylon, inherited from earlier Dutch VOC rule and featuring an elephant design.
Asian
Threepence
A small British coin worth three pence, issued first as a tiny silver piece and later as the distinctive 12-sided brass 'threepenny bit' beloved for its unusual shape.
British
Half Groat
A small hammered silver coin worth half the value of the groat, or two pence, struck across three centuries of English coinage from the reign of Edward III through the Stuart era.
British
Hong Kong Silver Dollar (1866–1868, Victoria)
A short-lived silver dollar struck at Britain's ill-fated Hong Kong Mint, bearing a young portrait of Queen Victoria; the mint closed within two years.
Asian
English Angel
A gold coin depicting the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon, issued for nearly two centuries and later famous for its use as a royal 'touch-piece' for the healing ceremony of the King's Evil.
British
Third Guinea
A small gold coin worth one-third of a guinea, or seven shillings, struck under George III in the years leading up to the introduction of the modern sovereign.
British
Mamluk Gold Dinar
A gold dinar of the Mamluk Sultanate, which ruled Egypt and Syria for over two and a half centuries, continuing the Islamic epigraphic gold coinage tradition until the Ottoman conquest.
World
Korean Sangpyeong Tongbo Cash
The standard cash coin of Joseon-dynasty Korea, cast for over two centuries with a huge range of mint and workshop marks on the reverse.
Asian