Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Napoleon III 20 Francs
French gold 20 francs of Emperor Napoleon III, showing his bare head facing right and a wreathed value on the reverse; example dated 1857.
World Coins
Two Guineas of George II
A large milled gold two-guinea piece of George II, with his left-facing laureate head and a crowned garnished shield of the royal arms; the pictured coin is dated 1738.
Milled
Indian Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin of 1908–1929 with a sunken (incuse) design: an Indian in a feathered war bonnet on the obverse and a standing eagle reverse.
Quarter Eagle
German East Africa 1 Rupie
A silver colonial rupee of German East Africa bearing the imperial eagle shield and the legend DEUTSCH OSTAFRIKA, struck for the German protectorate.
World
East India Company Half Anna
Large copper Half Anna of the East India Company, dated 1835, with laurel-wreath legend and the Company's heraldic lion-and-shield arms.
British India
Roanoke Island Half Dollar
A 1937 U.S. silver half dollar marking 350 years since the Roanoke Island colony and the birth of Virginia Dare, with Sir Walter Raleigh and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
Milled Sixpence of Elizabeth I
An early machine-struck English silver sixpence of Elizabeth I, showing her crowned draped bust with a rose and the royal shield above a date.
Milled
5 Roubles (Alexander III)
An Imperial Russian gold 5 Roubles of Alexander III, showing the tsar's bearded profile and the crowned double-headed eagle, struck in the late 1880s.
Modern
East India Company One Mohur
A machine-struck gold mohur of the East India Company bearing the young Queen Victoria, with a left-facing bust and the legend 'VICTORIA QUEEN', dated 1841.
British India
Fatimid Dinar of Imam Nizar
An 11th-century Fatimid gold dinar with concentric circular Kufic inscriptions naming the ruler and Shi'a invocations, a hallmark of Fatimid coinage.
Islamic (Medieval)
Iowa Centennial Half Dollar
A 1946 U.S. silver half dollar marking a century of Iowa statehood, showing the Old Stone Capitol at Iowa City and the state eagle with the Iowa motto.
Classic Commemorative
India One Rupee (Cupronickel)
A 1947 British India one rupee in cupro-nickel, its obverse bearing King George VI's crowned bust and its reverse a striding lion above ONE RUPEE INDIA.
Modern India
Crown of George III (Incorrupta)
A milled crown of George III dated 1817, named for its INCORRUPTA reverse legend, showing a laureate draped bust and crowned royal arms.
Milled
German 10 Deutsche Mark Commemorative
A West/unified German silver 10 Deutsche Mark commemorative; this 1995 issue honors Heinrich der Loewe (Henry the Lion) with the Federal Eagle reverse.
Commemorative
Massachusetts Shilling (1 Shilling 6 Pence)
A colonial-era Massachusetts silver piece valued at one shilling and sixpence, joining a pine-tree obverse with a rising-sun reverse and the date 1779.
Colonial
Gold Dinar of Malik Shah I
A hand-struck Seljuk gold dinar naming Malik Shah I (r. 1072–1092), covered in Arabic inscriptions with the ruler's titles and genealogy and an ornamental cartouche.
Islamic (Medieval)
Silver Dirham of Sayf ad-Din Inal
A thin Mamluk silver dirham of Sultan al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Inal (r. 1453–1461), covered on both faces with Arabic inscriptions naming the sultan and his titles.
Islamic
East India Company Two Mohurs
An 1835 East India Company gold two mohurs, showing William IV facing left and a lion before a palm tree above 'TWO MOHURS'.
British India
Netherlands East Indies 2 Cent
A wartime 1945 bronze 2-cent coin of the Dutch colony of the Netherlands East Indies, showing the crowned Netherlands shield and an ornate colonial reverse.
Southeast Asia
Irish Gun Money Halfcrown (30 Pence)
Emergency base-metal halfcrown struck for James II in Ireland during 1689–1690, valued at 30 pence and carrying his portrait and, on many issues, the month of striking.
Emergency Coinage
East India Company Quarter Anna
Large copper 1/4 anna of the East India Company dated 1835, with a heraldic lion-and-shield obverse and a laurel-wreath reverse.
British India
Half Crown of William III and Mary II
A milled silver half crown of the joint reign of William III and Mary II, showing their conjoined busts and a crowned heraldic shield, dated 1691.
Milled
Medieval Penny of Edward III
A hammered silver penny of Edward III (1327–1377): a crowned facing royal bust on one side and a long cross with pellets on the other.
British Isles
Quarter Angel of Elizabeth I
A small Elizabethan gold coin of the early 1580s showing a crowned portrait of the queen and a cross set with heraldic shields.
Hammered