Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
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
Israel 1 Agora (Bank of Israel 25th Anniversary)
A small 1980 aluminum-bronze 1 Agora of Israel, tied to the Bank of Israel's 25th anniversary, with grain ears on one face and the value 1 with Hebrew legend on the other.
World
100 Lei
A scarce Kingdom of Romania gold 100 Lei of 1939, showing King Carol II in profile on the obverse and the crowned Romanian coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
20 Lei
Romania's first gold coin, the 1870 20 Lei of Prince Carol I, pairing his left-facing portrait with the national coat of arms.
Modern
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
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)
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian
Roman As
A base-metal As of ancient Rome, showing the double-faced head of Janus on one side and a chariot with ROMA on the other.
Ancient
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
Roman Victoriatus
Silver Roman Republican victoriatus of the late 3rd–2nd century BC, with the laureate head of Jupiter and a Victory crowning a trophy above ROMA.
Ancient
Roman As/Dupondius (Uncertain)
An uncertain Roman bronze As or Dupondius: a double-faced Janus head on one side and a ship (galley/prow) with ROMA below 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
Roman Quadrans
A small Roman bronze quadrans, worth a quarter of an as, here a heavily corroded piece with a laureate head facing right.
Ancient
Roman Centenionalis
A small fourth-century Roman bronze coin, part of the reformed low-value currency struck across the empire's mints during a period of frequent monetary change.
Ancient
Roman Siliqua
Small late-Roman silver coin of the 4th century AD, with an emperor's portrait facing right and a standing robed figure on the reverse.
Ancient
Roman Quinarius
A small Roman silver quinarius, half the value of a denarius, here with a helmeted head of Roma and a prancing horse on the reverse.
Ancient
Roman Denarius
A small hammered silver coin of ancient Rome, showing an emperor's portrait and abbreviated Latin titles on one side and a deity or figure on the other.
Ancient
Cambodia One Franc
A mid-20th-century one-franc coin of the Kingdom of Cambodia, its obverse bearing a royal Norodom profile and its reverse a heraldic coat of arms.
Southeast Asia
Roman 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.
Ancient
Hessen-Homburg Kreuzer
A small silver 1 Kreuzer of the Landgraviate of Hessen-Homburg, with a crowned arms shield and a dated 1 KREUZER value in a laurel wreath.
German States
Roman Follis (AE3)
A small late Roman bronze follis of the Constantine I era (AD 320-330), with an emperor's profile obverse and a Victory or vota-in-wreath commemorative reverse.
Ancient
Roman Republic Semuncia
Smallest Roman Republican bronze denomination, worth half an uncia, struck around 217-215 BC with a Mercury head and a galley prow.
Ancient
Württemberg Kreuzer
A small silver 1 Kreuzer of the Duchy of Württemberg, dated 1690, with a heraldic coat of arms and a crowned shield over scrollwork.
German States