Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Edward I Groat
Rare early English silver fourpence of Edward I, showing his crowned facing-profile bust and a long-cross reverse with pellets in the quarters.
Medieval Coins
Poltina (½ Rouble)
Silver half-rouble of Imperial Russia dated 1857, marked ПОЛТИНА on one side and bearing the crowned double-headed eagle of the Romanov empire.
Modern
New Zealand Threepence
New Zealand's small silver threepence; this 1933 example carries the crowned bust of King George V with GEORGIVS V and his royal titles.
New Zealand
Pillar Dollar (Columnario)
Machine-struck Spanish colonial silver 8 reales showing two crowned globes between the Pillars of Hercules; a trusted world trade coin.
World Coins
Hong Kong 20 Cents
A small British Hong Kong silver 20 Cents of Edward VII, with the crowned royal profile on one side and a Chinese dragon and value on the other.
Circulation
Spanish Colonial 1 Real (Bourbon)
A small silver coin of Spain's American colonies from the early Bourbon era, showing a cross with ornaments on one side and the crowned royal arms on the other.
Colonial
James VI Ryal
A large hammered silver Scottish ryal of James VI, showing a crowned lion-rampant shield and a mailed swordhand grasping an upright sword, dated 1569.
Hammered
Sixpence of Elizabeth I
A hammered silver sixpence of Elizabeth I, showing the crowned, ruff-collared queen in profile and the royal shield, most bearing a date beside a mint mark.
Hammered
Bank of England Dollar
A George III silver dollar issued by the Bank of England in 1804, struck over Spanish eight-reales coins, with a laureate bust and a crowned shield reverse.
Milled
Spanish Colonial 2 Reales (Milled)
A small milled silver coin of the Spanish Empire, struck in colonial American mints; this example is dated 1776 and shows heraldic lions, castles and a crowned shield.
Colonial
Spanish Colonial Cob 8 Reales
A hand-struck silver cob 8 reales of Spain's American colonies—the irregular, hammered “piece of eight” bearing the crowned Habsburg arms and Pillars of Hercules.
Cob Coinage
Shilling of Charles I
A hammered silver English shilling of King Charles I, showing his crowned left-facing profile with the value mark XII and a quartered royal shield.
World Coins
Eritrea 1 Tallero
A large silver trade dollar struck for Italian Eritrea under King Umberto I, carrying crowned heraldic arms and a Savoy eagle, dated 1891.
World
Teston of Henri II
A French Renaissance silver teston of Henri II (1547-1559): the king's realistic profile bust right, a crowned fleur-de-lis coat of arms on the reverse.
Renaissance
Austria-Hungary 10 Kreuzer
A small low-grade silver 10 Kreuzer of Emperor Franz Joseph I, pairing his laureate portrait with a crowned double-headed imperial eagle and a 10 value shield.
Circulation
Grant Memorial Half Dollar
A 1922 U.S. silver commemorative marking the centennial of Ulysses S. Grant's birth, with his profile and the dates 1822-1922, issued with and without a star.
Classic Commemorative
5 Aurar
Icelandic bronze 5 aurar of the Kingdom era, marked ÍSLAND with a crowned KONUNGDÓMUR ÍSLANDS reverse, struck 1926-1942.
World
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
Washington Quarter
U.S. twenty-five-cent coin introduced in 1932, showing George Washington's profile and an eagle reverse; early issues struck in 90% silver.
Quarter
French Cérès 5 Francs
A large silver French 5 francs showing the head of Cérès, goddess of the harvest, wearing a liberty cap, with the republican motto LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ.
Circulation
1 Franc Ceres
A small silver French franc showing the head of Cérès, goddess of the harvest, wearing wheat and a star, with the LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE reverse dated 1871.
Circulation
Jefferson Nickel
U.S. five-cent piece introduced in 1938, showing Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and his Monticello home on the reverse. 1942–1945 issues are 35% silver.
Nickel Five Cent
Yunnan 20 Cents
A 1932 provincial silver 20 Cents from Yunnan, China, with a radiant sun and rays on one face and central Chinese value characters framed by ornament on the other.
Circulation
Denarius of Commodus
A silver denarius of the Roman emperor Commodus (180–192 AD), with his laureate bearded portrait and a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient