Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
German East Africa 1/4 Rupie
A small colonial silver coin of German East Africa, inscribed DEUTSCH OSTAFRIKA and 1/4 RUPIE within a wreath, paired with the imperial eagle.
World
Spanish Colonial 1 Real (Bourbon)
A small silver coin of Spain's American colonies from the early Bourbon era, showing a cross with ornaments on one side and the crowned royal arms on the other.
Colonial
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
20 Lire
Silver-colored Italian 20 Lire piece of the Fascist era, showing a Mussolini profile and a horse-drawn chariot, dated 1936.
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
2 Lire
Silver 2 Lire of the Papal States struck under Pope Pius IX, part of the Italian lira system adopted by Rome in the 1860s.
Modern
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)
100 Lire
Italy's 1979 100 Lire, a nickel-hued FAO commemorative with a woman's profile on the obverse and an allegorical figure beside the value on the reverse.
Modern
Sacagawea Dollar
U.S. golden-colored dollar coin showing Sacagawea and her infant son on the obverse and a soaring eagle on the reverse, struck 2000–2008.
Dollar
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy IV
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy IV Philopator, 221-204 BC, with the jugate busts of Sarapis and Isis on the obverse and an eagle on a thunderbolt on the reverse.
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
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, c. 305-283 BC, with his diademed portrait and the Ptolemaic eagle standing on a thunderbolt.
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
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
Gobrecht Dollar
U.S. silver dollar of 1836 by engraver Christian Gobrecht, pairing a Seated Liberty obverse with a flying-eagle reverse; a rare pattern-era issue.
Dollar
French Silver Franc
A small Third Republic silver 1-franc coin with an allegorical Marianne head and a REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE reverse; the pictured piece is dated 1899.
World
Standing Liberty Quarter
U.S. 90% silver quarter struck 1916–1930, showing a standing Liberty with shield on the obverse and an eagle in flight on the reverse.
Quarter
Draped Bust Dime
The first United States dime, struck in silver 1796–1807, with a draped Liberty and border stars on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse.
United States
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