Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Western Satrap Silver Drachm
A silver drachm of the Western Satraps, Saka rulers of western India, easily identified by a crude Greek-style portrait obverse and a three-arched hill reverse.
Ancient
British India Rupee (Silver)
Standardized silver rupee issued across British-ruled India from 1835 until independence, bearing the portrait of the reigning British monarch.
Asian
Netherlands East Indies Gulden (Wilhelmina)
Dutch colonial silver gulden struck for the Netherlands East Indies bearing the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina, the standard coin of Dutch-ruled Indonesia.
Asian
Indo-Greek Silver Drachm (Menander)
A silver drachm of Menander I, the most famous Indo-Greek king, known for bilingual Greek and Kharoshthi legends and a portrait bust with helmet.
Ancient
1948 Franklin Half Dollar
The debut year of the Franklin half dollar, featuring Benjamin Franklin's portrait and the Liberty Bell, designed by Mint engraver John R. Sinnock.
United States
Draped Bust Large Cent
An early American copper cent showing a classically draped Liberty, based on a Gilbert Stuart portrait, minted at the dawn of United States coinage.
United States
German Empire 5 Mark
A large silver crown of Imperial Germany bearing the portrait or arms of individual constituent states, unified under a common eagle reverse after German unification in 1871.
European
1984 Doubled Ear Lincoln Cent
A popular doubled die variety showing distinct doubling on Lincoln's ear on the obverse portrait, one of the more visually distinctive and widely collected Lincoln cent varieties.
Errors & Varieties
Presidential Dollar - Abraham Lincoln
A Presidential Dollar honoring Abraham Lincoln, released in 2010 during the bicentennial period of his birth, featuring his portrait and the series' distinctive incused edge lettering.
United States
Jefferson Nickel
Struck since 1938, the Jefferson Nickel pairs a portrait of Thomas Jefferson with his home, Monticello, and briefly switched to a silver alloy during World War II.
United States
Buffalo Nickel
Beloved American five-cent coin featuring a Native American portrait and an American bison, designed by James Earle Fraser and celebrated for its distinctly American imagery.
United States
Moroccan Rial (Alawi Dynasty Coinage)
Silver rial coinage struck by Morocco's Alawi sultans in the pre-colonial era, following Islamic coinage tradition with Arabic legends and no ruler portrait.
Africa & Oceania
Egyptian Pound (gold)
Egypt's principal gold coin, struck from the Khedivate through the Sultanate and early Kingdom era, carrying the ruler's portrait or tughra and Arabic legends.
Africa & Oceania
Nabataean Silver Drachm (Aretas IV)
Silver coin of Aretas IV, the most powerful king of the Nabataean Kingdom centered on Petra, often showing his portrait jugate with Queen Shaquilat.
Ancient
Larissa Nymph Facing Drachm
A celebrated Thessalian silver drachm showing the facing head of the nymph Larissa, considered one of the finest facing-portrait achievements in Greek coin art.
Ancient
Katane (Catania) Apollo Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Katane in Sicily, admired for its finely engraved Apollo portrait and dynamic quadriga scene, sometimes signed by celebrated die engravers.
Ancient
Antiochos Seleucid Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm struck for one of several Seleucid kings named Antiochus, featuring a royal portrait obverse and enthroned Apollo reverse typical of the dynasty.
Ancient
Mithradates VI Pontos Tetradrachm
A Hellenistic silver tetradrachm portraying Mithradates VI Eupator of Pontos, Rome's fiercest eastern rival, with his distinctive wind-swept diademed portrait and a grazing stag reverse.
Ancient
Saudi Arabian Riyal (silver)
The standardized silver riyal introduced by King Abdulaziz to unify the currency of the newly formed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, featuring Arabic inscriptions and national emblems without a ruler's portrait.
Asian
Belgian 5 Francs
A large silver crown of the newly independent Kingdom of Belgium, bearing the portrait of Leopold I or Leopold II and the national coat of arms, a flagship coin of the young nation's currency.
European
Portuguese 1000 Reis
A large silver crown of the Kingdom of Portugal, bearing the reigning monarch's portrait and national arms, serving as the country's principal high-value silver coin before the 1910 republic.
European
Italian 5 Lire
A large silver crown of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, bearing the portrait of the reigning king and marking Italy's emergence as a single national currency after centuries of regional coinages.
European
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
Chinese Szechuan Rupee (Tibet-related)
Silver rupee struck by China's Szechuan provincial mint to compete with British Indian rupees circulating in Tibet, blending a Chinese ruler's portrait with an Indian-style coin format.
Asian