Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Canadian Five Cents (Nickel)
Canada's five-cent 'nickel,' with G.E. Kruger Gray's beaver reverse. This 1987 example pairs the beaver with an Elizabeth II portrait.
Canadian & Provincial
Gold Guinea
English gold coin of the Guinea denomination; the example shown bears the right-facing bust of Charles II with a crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1668.
World Coins
Maundy Money Penny
Tiny silver penny given as royal alms; this James II example (1687) shows a crowned bust and a crowned Roman numeral I reverse.
Maundy
Silver Rupee of Bhopal State
Silver rupee of the princely state of Bhopal, struck at the Daulatgarh mint in the name of Mughal emperor Muhammad Akbar II, marked by a trident symbol.
Princely & Presidency States
Egypt 20 Qirsh
The 20 qirsh was Egypt's largest silver coin under the Khedivate, bearing the Ottoman sultan's tughra; this example dates to 1905.
World
Short Cross Penny
Hammered silver penny of Henry II showing a crowned facing-left royal portrait and a cross-crosslet (cross-and-crosslets) reverse.
Medieval Coins
Prussian Taler
A large silver taler of the Kingdom of Prussia showing the crowned profile of Frederick II and a heraldic coat of arms, struck through the mid-to-late 1700s.
German States
Maundy One Penny
The smallest British Maundy silver coin, bearing a crowned Roman numeral I; this example was struck in 1687 under James II.
Maundy
British Farthing
Small copper farthing of King George II, with his laureate bust facing left and a seated Britannia on the reverse; struck in the 1730s.
British Isles
500 Reis
A Portuguese silver 500 Reis of Queen Maria II, with her left-facing draped bust on the obverse and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
American Plantations Token
A 1688 tin token struck under James II for England's American colonies, valued at 1/24 of a Spanish real — the first regal-authorized coinage for British America.
Colonial
Tymf
A debased Polish silver coin of 1663 tariffed at 30 groszy, famous for a Latin motto declaring the state's safety worth more than the metal.
Early Modern
Parthian Drachm
Silver drachm of the Parthian (Arsacid) Empire, pairing a bearded royal profile with a seated archer holding a bow, struck in the era of Mithradates II.
Ancient
Canadian Ten Cents
Small silver Canadian dime with the Bluenose schooner reverse and an early Queen Elizabeth II portrait; the pictured coin is dated 1955.
Canadian & Provincial
Styca of Aethelred
Small base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, naming King Aethelred, with a central device and legend on one face and a cross on the other.
Medieval Coins
Byzantine Follis
Large bronze follis of the Byzantine Empire, this example under Constans II (from 641 AD), with an imperial portrait and a big M value mark topped by a cross.
Medieval
50 Öre (Silver)
A small Swedish silver 50 ore of the Oscar II era, dated 1898, with the value and date in a laurel wreath on one side and the crowned Swedish arms on the other.
Modern
British Honduras 10 Cents
A silver-colored colonial 10 cents of British Honduras, with the Queen's portrait on the obverse and a plain 10 CENTS legend around BRITISH HONDURAS and the date.
Colonial
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
Irish Gun Money Shilling
A base-metal Irish emergency shilling struck for James II in 1689-1690, with his laureate bust and a crowned reverse dated by month, here October 1689.
Emergency Coinage
1 Kopeck
Small copper 1 Kopeck of Imperial Russia dated 1908, with the value in a wreath on one side and the crowned double-headed eagle on the other.
Modern
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII of Egypt, c. 170-116 BC, with a diademed royal head on the obverse and an eagle on a thunderbolt reverse.
Ancient
Congolese Commemorative Coin
An 1889 holed copper 10-centime coin of the Congo Free State, with a radiant five-pointed star, the value 10 C, and a ring of small stars.
World
Scudo (Philip V)
A gold scudo struck for Spanish-ruled Sardinia under Philip V, bearing a crowned shield flanked by the Columns of Hercules and a cross reverse.
Early Modern