Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Qajar 5 Tomans Commemorative
A late Qajar gold 5 Tomans of Persia showing Ahmad Shah Qajar in a laurel wreath and the national Lion emblem, dated 1299.
Persia / Iran
Half Sovereign
A small British 22-carat gold coin worth ten shillings; this example shows Queen Victoria's veiled, crowned Jubilee Head portrait and is dated 1887.
World Coins
Japanese 20 Yen
Early Meiji-era Japanese gold coin showing a dragon among clouds on one side and a floral design with the 20 yen denomination on the other.
World Coins
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
10 Euro (Royal Marriage)
A 2002 Netherlands gold 10 Euro commemorating the royal wedding, with Queen Beatrix on the obverse and the dual profiles of Willem-Alexander and Maxima on the reverse.
Commemorative
Brutus Aureus
The gold aureus of Marcus Junius Brutus, struck 42 BC, whose reverse celebrates Caesar's assassination with EID MAR, a cap of liberty, and two daggers.
Ancient
Solidus of Justinian I
Byzantine gold solidus of Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD), showing his crowned imperial bust with a seated figure on the reverse.
Ancient Coins
60 Kreuzer Guldiner
A gold 60 Kreuzer Guldiner of the Holy Roman Empire dated 1568, showing Emperor Maximilian II in plumed armor in right profile.
German States
Keicho Koban
A thin oval Japanese gold coin worth one ryo, its surface covered in fine parallel striations with stamped cartouches and Goto mint marks.
Historic
Xuantong Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A late Qing silver dollar-size coin of the Xuantong era (1909-1911), reading 宣統元寶 on the obverse with a Chinese dragon on the reverse.
Circulation
Twenty Cent Piece
A short-lived U.S. silver coin worth twenty cents, showing a seated Liberty and a soaring eagle, struck only from 1875 to 1878.
Twenty Cent
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
Half Sovereign of George III
British 22-carat gold half sovereign of George III, introduced in 1817 with a laureate bust and a crowned shield of arms; face value ten shillings.
Milled
Ottoman Manghir
The manghir was the small copper coin of the Ottoman Empire, used for everyday change; this example bears a tughra and dates to the reign of Murad II.
Medieval Islamic
Vietnam 2 Tien - Bao Dai
A gold 2 Tien of Vietnam's last emperor, Bao Dai (1926-1945), its face bearing a radiant sun motif and Chinese-Vietnamese court inscriptions.
Southeast Asia
Spanish Colonial 8 Reales (Milled Bust)
The milled-bust Spanish colonial 8 reales—the classic “piece of eight,” a large silver coin bearing the Spanish king's portrait and royal arms.
Colonial
Edward III Noble
Large medieval English gold coin of King Edward III, showing the crowned king standing in a ship and an ornate floral cross on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
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
Macao 100 Patacas Return to China Commemorative
A 1999 Macao 100 patacas commemorative marking the return to China: a Portuguese ship with a gold center on one side, the Macao coat of arms on the other.
Commemorative
Edward III Half Noble
Medieval English gold coin worth half a noble, this example showing King Edward III crowned with heraldic devices and a shielded, ornamented reverse.
Medieval Coins
20 Drachmai
Greece's 1884 gold 20 Drachmai of King George I: a small Latin Monetary Union gold coin with the king's portrait and the crowned royal arms.
Modern
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
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
Edward III Quarter Noble
Small medieval English gold coin of Edward III, showing a crowned shield of arms on the obverse and an ornate floral cross design on the reverse.
Medieval Coins