Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
James Lewis and Company Civil War Token
A privately struck Civil War store card advertising Jas. Lewis & Co. of La Porte, Indiana, with a classical head obverse and a beehive reverse.
Token
Paquet Double Eagle
An 1861 U.S. $20 gold piece with the standard Liberty Head obverse paired with Anthony Paquet's rare tall-letter reverse variety.
Gold Type Coin
Numapis Denarius
A silver denarius of the Roman Republic (1st century BC) pairing a male portrait facing right with a ship or galley and lettering on the reverse.
Ancient
Lincoln Memorial Cent
U.S. one-cent piece struck 1959–2008 with Lincoln's profile and a Memorial reverse; 1982 is the split year between bronze and copper-plated zinc.
Small Cent
Spade Guinea
A late George III gold guinea named for the distinctive spade-shaped shield on its reverse, struck in England from 1787 into the early 1800s.
Milled
Marinid Gold Dinar
Aniconic Islamic gold dinar of the Marinid dynasty of Morocco, its faces filled with Arabic religious inscriptions framed by geometric border bands.
Medieval Islamic
Manlius Vulso Æ Sextans
Small Roman Republican bronze sextans signed by the moneyer Manlius Vulso, with a capped male head and the classic prow reverse marked ROMA.
Ancient
Denarius of Cn. Pompeius Magnus
Silver Roman Republican denarius of the Pompeian party (46–45 BC), with a bearded portrait of Pompey the Great and a galley reverse reading PRO COS.
Ancient
100 Won
South Korea's everyday nickel 100 won coin, showing Admiral Yi Sun-sin in his winged helmet on the obverse and a large numeral 100 on the reverse.
Circulation
Classic Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1834–1839, with a band-bound Liberty head obverse and a shield-breasted eagle reverse marked "2½ D."
Quarter Eagle
Ilkhanid Dirham
A hand-struck silver dirham of the Mongol Ilkhanate, covered in Arabic and Persian inscriptions arranged in a quatrefoil cartouche and concentric bands.
Islamic (Medieval)
Caballito Peso
A silver Mexican peso nicknamed for the horse on its obverse: an allegorical figure on horseback holding a torch aloft, backed by the eagle-and-serpent arms.
Circulation
Athenian Owl Tetradrachm
Broad silver 'New Style' tetradrachm of Athens (c. 165-42 BC): helmeted Athena on the front, owl on an amphora within an olive wreath on the back.
Ancient Coins
1 Penni
Finland's smallest post-1963 coin: a tiny light base-metal piece with a bold numeral 1 and SUOMI on the front and a geometric line pattern on the back.
World
Ilkhanid Dirham of Abu Said
A hand-struck Mongol Ilkhanate silver dirham of Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, with the ruler's titles set in a cartouche and religious inscriptions in concentric bands.
Islamic (Medieval)
French Semeuse 1 Franc
France's classic silver 1 franc showing the Semeuse (Sower) with a liberty cap, backed by an oak-and-olive wreath around the value; this example is dated 1916.
Circulation
Guangxu Yuanbao 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens
A small silver dragon coin of Qing China from the Guangxu era, its face reading 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens and its back showing a coiled Chinese dragon.
Circulation
Medieval Coin
A worn hammered silver coin of the medieval era, with faded profile, legends, and a heraldic or emblematic reverse.
Hammered
Denarius of Geta
Silver denarius of the Severan prince Geta, showing his youthful bust with a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Alexander the Great Silver Drachm
Silver drachm in the name of Alexander the Great, with the head of young Herakles in a lion skin and Zeus enthroned on the reverse.
Ancient
Ancient Hellenistic Tetradrachm
A large Hellenistic silver tetradrachm with a bearded, curly-haired head on the obverse and an eagle standing on a thunderbolt on the reverse.
Ancient
Matapan (Serbian imitation)
A medieval Serbian coin modeled on the Venetian matapan (grosso), showing standing figures on the obverse and a cross on the reverse.
Medieval
Hamburg 32 Schilling
A 1800 silver 32 Schilling of the Free City of Hamburg, with the city coat of arms and a 'HAMBURGER COURANT' reverse.
German States
Kenya 20 Shillings
A modern bimetallic Kenyan circulation coin showing a president's portrait on the obverse and the national coat of arms on the reverse.
World