Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Nerva Denarius
Silver denarius of the elderly senator Nerva, first of Rome's "Five Good Emperors," whose brief reign is best remembered for adopting Trajan as his successor.
Ancient
Vespasian Judaea Capta Sestertius
A large bronze coin of Emperor Vespasian commemorating Rome's suppression of the Jewish Revolt, showing a mourning captive beneath a palm tree with the legend IVDAEA CAPTA.
Ancient
Domitian Denarius
Silver coin of the last Flavian emperor, Domitian, whose lengthy autocratic reign produced abundant, well-struck denarii before his assassination and damnatio memoriae.
Ancient
Ottoman Para
A small fractional Ottoman coin, historically 1/40 of a kurus, struck for centuries in varying metals as the empire's lowest everyday denomination.
World
Ottoman Kurus (Piastre)
The standard Ottoman monetary unit for centuries, struck in silver or base metal bearing the sultan's tughra, later becoming a subunit of the Ottoman lira after 1844.
World
Ottoman Gold 500 Kurus (Abdulhamid II)
A substantial gold coin struck under Sultan Abdulhamid II, equal to five Ottoman lira, bearing his tughra and used both for circulation and as a store of wealth.
World
Brazilian 20000 Reis Gold
The highest-value gold coin of the Empire of Brazil, struck intermittently under Emperor Pedro II to support the country's monetary reserves and international trade.
Latin American
Byzantine Follis
The large bronze workhorse coin of everyday Byzantine commerce, reformed by Emperor Anastasius I in 498 AD with a prominent Greek numeral denoting its value of 40 nummi.
Ancient
Spanish 8 Reales (Piece of Eight)
The legendary 'piece of eight,' Spain's silver dollar-sized coin that became the world's first truly global currency and the direct ancestor of the U.S. dollar.
World
1946-S/D Jefferson Nickel Repunched Mintmark
A hand-punched mintmark variety on the 1946 Jefferson nickel showing remnants of a D beneath the final S, created when a die intended for one mint was repunched with another mintmark.
Errors & Varieties
Brazilian 2000 Reis Silver
The largest common silver coin of the Brazilian Empire, bearing the portrait of Emperor Pedro II across several design types spanning his long reign.
Latin American
Guptas 'Horseman' Silver Coin
Silver coin of the Gupta Empire showing the king on horseback, struck after Gupta conquest of western India in imitation of earlier Western Kshatrapa silver coinage.
Ancient
Kushan Gold Dinar of Kanishka
A gold dinar of the great Kushan emperor Kanishka I, famous for its rich mix of Greek, Iranian, Indian, and Buddhist deities depicted on the reverse.
Ancient
Ottoman Silver Akce
A tiny silver coin that served as the basic everyday currency unit of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, gradually shrinking in size and silver content as inflation took hold.
World
Ottoman Gold Sultani
The principal gold trade coin of the early Ottoman Empire, struck to match the weight and fineness of the Venetian ducat so it could compete in Mediterranean commerce.
World
Byzantine Electrum Aspron Trachy (Scyphate)
A distinctive cup-shaped Byzantine coin struck in electrum after Alexios I Komnenos's currency reform, featuring religious imagery and a concave scyphate flan.
Ancient
Byzantine Miliaresion
The main large silver coin of the middle Byzantine Empire, introduced in the 8th century and typically featuring a plain cross on steps, reflecting the era's Iconoclast religious tensions.
Ancient
Byzantine Gold Semissis
A scarce half-value gold fraction of the Byzantine solidus, struck in smaller numbers than the tremissis and often associated with ceremonial or donative purposes.
Ancient
Byzantine Gold Histamenon Nomisma
A distinctive concave (cup-shaped) Byzantine gold coin introduced in the 10th century as the full-weight companion to the flat tetarteron nomisma.
Ancient
Byzantine Gold Solidus
The gold standard coin of the Byzantine Empire for over 700 years, prized in medieval trade as far away as India and Scandinavia under the nickname "bezant."
Ancient
Spanish Gold Doubloon
A popular name for large Spanish colonial gold coins, typically two, four, or eight escudos, forever associated with pirate treasure and sunken Spanish galleons.
World
Spanish Gold Escudo (Doubloon)
The gold denomination of the Spanish Empire, whose larger multiples became famous as "doubloons," struck both in Spain and across its American colonial mints for centuries.
European
Spanish 8 Reales Portrait Dollar
The globally trusted "Spanish dollar" bearing a king's portrait, minted across Spain's vast colonial empire and so widely circulated it directly inspired the U.S. dollar sign and denomination.
European
Austrian Levantine Thaler (Maria Theresa Thaler)
A famous silver trade coin bearing the portrait of Empress Maria Theresa, perpetually dated 1780 and restruck for centuries as a trusted trade currency across the Middle East, Arabia, and East Africa.
European