Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
East African 1 Cent
A small holed copper 1 Cent of British East Africa dated 1924, with a crown and decorative rings on one face and the value framing the central hole on the other.
World
Xuantong Yuanbao 7 Mace 2 Candareens
A late Qing silver dollar-size coin of the Xuantong era (1909-1911), reading 宣統元寶 on the obverse with a Chinese dragon on the reverse.
Circulation
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
Corinthian Stater
Silver stater of ancient Corinth showing the winged horse Pegasos on one side and the helmeted head of Athena on the other.
Ancient Coins
Roman As
A base-metal As of ancient Rome, showing the double-faced head of Janus on one side and a chariot with ROMA on the other.
Ancient
Half Thistle Merk
A hammered Scottish silver half merk of James VI, showing a crowned coat of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Cnidian Drachm
An archaic hand-struck silver drachm of the Greek city of Cnidus, showing the goddess Aphrodite on one side and an eagle on the other.
Ancient
Eighth Thistle Merk
A small hammered silver Scottish coin of James VI, showing a crowned heraldic shield of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Joachimsthaler (Thaler)
A large early-16th-century Bohemian silver thaler from Joachimsthal, dated 1525; the coin whose name gave rise to the words 'thaler' and 'dollar'.
Early Modern
Barbados 10 Cents
A small copper-nickel Barbadian 10-cent coin showing the national coat of arms on one side and the value and country name on the other.
Circulation
Venetian Ducat
A medieval gold ducat of the Republic of Venice, showing Saint Mark presenting a banner to the kneeling Doge on one side and Christ on the other.
Medieval
Ceylon 5 Rupees
A 1957 Ceylon silver 5 Rupees marking 2500 years of Buddhism, with a large 2500 on one side and RUPEES CEYLON with the 1957 date on the other.
Commemorative
Henry VII Groat
Hammered silver fourpence of Henry VII, first Tudor king, showing a crowned royal portrait on one side and a shield of the English arms on the other.
Medieval Coins
Edward IV Groat
A hammered silver fourpence of King Edward IV of England, struck 1461-1483, with a crowned facing bust on one side and a long cross with rosettes on the other.
Medieval Coins
Republic 1 Fen
A holed copper 1 fen of Republican China, showing a numeral 1 with Chinese characters on one side and flowering plum blossoms on the other, around a central square-ish hole.
Circulation
4 Maravedis
A copper Spanish coin struck in the names of Carlos and Joanna, worth four maravedis (one cuarto), carrying the crowned royal arms and Pillars of Hercules.
Circulation
American Platinum Eagle
The United States' official platinum bullion coin, struck in .9995 fine platinum with a Statue of Liberty obverse; this is the 1998 one-tenth-ounce $10 issue.
Bullion
Anglo-Saxon Styca
A tiny base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, struck in the 8th-9th century with a head and inscription on one side and a cross on the other.
Medieval Coins
Bhutan 10 Sengtrum
A 1979 cupro-nickel minor coin of the Kingdom of Bhutan, worth one-tenth of a ngultrum, with the national arms on one face and an ornamental gateway on the other.
Himalayan
Central American Republic 8 Reales
A silver 8 reales of the Central American Republic, showing a rayed sun rising over mountains on one side and a tree on the other, dated 1824.
Circulation
Spanish Colonial Cob 2 Reales
A crude hand-struck silver cob worth a quarter of a piece of eight, showing a cross on one side and the Habsburg Spanish arms on the other.
Cob Coinage
Syracuse Tetradrachm
Classical silver tetradrachm of Syracuse in Sicily, showing a racing four-horse chariot on one side and a right-facing nymph's head on the other.
Ancient
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
10 Cash (Republic)
A Republic of China bronze 10 Cash: a round machine-struck copper piece with a central ornament and characters on one face and a decorative inscribed reverse.
Cash Coin