Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Turban Head Half Eagle
First U.S. gold $5 coin, 1795: Liberty in a soft cap facing right, with a heraldic shield-breasted eagle reverse struck in 22-karat gold.
Half Eagle
Newfoundland Five Cents
Tiny sterling-silver 5-cent piece of the Dominion of Newfoundland; the 1929 issue bears King George V and a crowned denomination reverse.
Canadian & Provincial
1 Escudo
Portugal's first silver escudo, struck in 1910 to mark the founding of the Republic, with an allegorical female head and the crowned national shield.
Modern
Denarius of Cassius Longinus
Silver denarius struck in 42 BC by Gaius Cassius Longinus, one of Caesar's assassins, to pay his legions before the Battle of Philippi.
Ancient
Venezuelan Silver Coin (1879)
An 1879 Venezuelan silver coin: the left-facing head of Simón Bolívar on one side and the national coat of arms in a wreath on the other.
Circulation
Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1924 U.S. silver commemorative half dollar marking 300 years of Huguenot and Walloon settlement in America, with two settler profiles and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
Pakistan One Rupee
An early coin of newly independent Pakistan, dated 1948, with the GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN legend framing an ornate Islamic geometric and floral design.
South Asia
Denier of Charlemagne
A hand-struck silver denier of Charlemagne, king of the Franks: a central cross ringed by the CARLVS REX FR legend, with a royal monogram design on the reverse.
Medieval
Aureus of Nero
Roman imperial gold aureus of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD), showing his curly-haired portrait facing right with a Latin imperial legend.
Ancient Coins
Denarius of Otho
Silver denarius of the emperor Otho, struck at Rome during his brief AD 69 reign, showing his bare head right with the legend IMP OTHO CAESAR.
Ancient
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
Eritrea 1 Lira
Silver 1 lira struck for Italy's colony of Eritrea, dated 1918, with a crowned heraldic emblem and the legend COLONIA ERITREA L.1.
World
Gold Dinar of Abu'l-Qasim Unujur
An Ikhshidid gold dinar of Abu'l-Qasim Unujur, dated AH 337, with purely calligraphic Arabic legends inside ornamental borders on both faces.
Islamic (Medieval)
Dirham of Kamal al-Dawla Gharib
Silver dirham from 10th-century Iraq/Mesopotamia naming the ruler Gharib with the honorific Kamal al-Dawla, struck with Kufic Arabic legends.
Medieval Islamic
1 Öre
A small copper 1 öre of Sweden dated 1873, with a left-facing profile of King Oscar II, the legend SVERIGE OCH NORGE, and the value in a laurel wreath.
Modern
Saudi Arabian Silver Riyal
A large, portrait-free silver coin of King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, covered in Arabic legends and a state seal — a cornerstone of early Saudi coinage.
World
Empire 20 Pesos
A gold 20 pesos of the Second Mexican Empire, showing a bearded imperial portrait, the legend IMPERIO MEXICANO, and a crowned heraldic coat of arms.
Circulation
Silver Rupee of Bombay Presidency
British East India Company silver rupee struck at Bombay in the name of Mughal emperor Akbar II, bearing Persian legends.
Princely & Presidency States
Gold Toman of Ahmad Shah Qajar
A Qajar-era gold toman bearing the portrait bust and tall headdress of Ahmad Shah, with Persian legends, date and mint, and a wreathed calligraphic reverse.
Persia / Iran
12 Skilling
An early-modern Danish 12 skilling dated 1721, showing a crowned shield with a lion on one face and ornamental legend and value on the other.
Early 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
Long Cross Penny
Hand-struck medieval English silver penny with a crowned royal bust and a long voided cross reaching the rim, dividing the reverse legend.
Medieval Coins
Denarius of Nerva
Roman Imperial silver denarius of Emperor Nerva (96-98 AD), with his laureate portrait and the legend IMP NERVA CAES AVG, and a seated Concordia reverse.
Ancient