Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British Decimal Half Penny
The smallest UK decimal coin, a tiny bronze half-penny introduced with decimalisation in 1971, bearing a crown reverse and the Machin portrait of Elizabeth II.
British Isles
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
Antiochos III Tetradrachm
A large Seleucid silver coin of Antiochos III the Great, showing his diademed head and a seated deity holding shield and spear.
Ancient
Antoninianus of Gordian III
Silver double-denarius of the young emperor Gordian III (238-244 AD), marked by his radiate crown and a standing deity on the reverse.
Ancient
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
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
Philip and Mary Shilling
Hammered silver shilling of Philip II of Spain and Mary I (1554-1558), showing their paired royal busts and a crowned quartered shield of arms.
Hammered
Nova Scotia One Cent
Bronze one-cent coin of the colony of Nova Scotia, with a crowned Queen Victoria obverse and a crown-and-maple-leaves reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
Qiran of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
A hand-struck silver qiran of the Qajar shah Fath-Ali, carrying Persian calligraphy, a decorative border and crown motif, dated AH 1240–1241 (AD 1825–1826).
Persia / Iran
Gambia 20 Dalasis (Mungo Park Commemorative)
A 1994 silver 20 dalasis crown from The Gambia honoring Scottish explorer Mungo Park, shown with a sailing ship on the reverse.
World
Ecu of Louis XIV
A large silver crown of Louis XIV, the Sun King, showing his laureate or wigged bust facing left and a crowned French shield of fleur-de-lis, dated 1693.
Royal
Gothic Florin
A silver two-shilling florin of Queen Victoria in the medieval-revival Gothic style, with an ornate crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1869.
Milled
Medieval Penny
England's standard medieval coin: a small hammered silver penny with a crowned royal head on one side and a cross on the other, struck by hand across many reigns.
Medieval Coins
Australian Sixpence
Small silver sixpence of the Commonwealth of Australia; this 1935 piece carries the crowned bust of King George V.
Australian
Guangxu Yuanbao Dollar
A crown-sized silver dragon dollar of Qing China inscribed 光緒元寶 (Guangxu Yuanbao), with a coiled dragon reverse and a provincial mint inscription; this piece dated 1905.
Circulation
English Shilling
English silver shilling of William III, showing his right-facing laureate bust and a crowned cruciform-shield reverse; this example is dated 1692.
World Coin
Maundy Three Pence
A tiny sterling-silver threepence tied to Britain's Royal Maundy tradition; the photographed 1687 coin shows James II's bust and a crowned Roman numeral III.
Maundy
Jamaica Half Penny
An 1871 colonial Jamaica halfpenny in copper-nickel: young Queen Victoria facing left on the obverse, the crowned Jamaican shield of arms on the reverse.
Colonial
English Sixpence
A hammered silver sixpence of James I, showing his crowned profile bust and a quartered royal shield with a long cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Peace Dollar
U.S. 90% silver dollar first struck in 1921, with a radiant-crowned Liberty head and a perched eagle over the word PEACE.
Dollar
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation
Austrian Award Medal
A silver Austrian award medal with a crowned double-headed eagle bearing a coat of arms on the obverse and a decorative heraldic shield on the reverse.
Medal
Antoninianus of Aurelian
Late Roman billon coin of Emperor Aurelian, showing his radiate-crowned bust and a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient Coins
Shilling of James I
Hammered silver shilling of King James I, showing his crowned left-facing bust and a quartered heraldic shield of England, Scotland, Ireland and France.
World Coins