Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Sestertius of Didius Julianus
A large bronze/orichalcum sestertius of Didius Julianus, the emperor who reigned only weeks in 193 AD — rare, historically charged, and much sought after.
Ancient
Australian Fifty Cents
Australia's 50 cent coin bearing the national coat of arms. The 1966 round issue shown here was struck in silver; later 12-sided coins are cupronickel.
Australian
Delaware Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking 300 years since Swedish colonists landed in Delaware, showing Old Swedes Church on one side and the ship Kalmar Nyckel on the other.
Classic Commemorative
Aguascalientes 20 Centavos
A copper 20 centavos struck in Aguascalientes during the Mexican Revolution in 1915, showing the denomination on one side and a large numeral 20 with the national eagle on the other.
Revolutionary
Texas Centennial Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar (1934–1938) marking a century of Texas independence, with a spread-winged eagle over a large star on the obverse.
Classic Commemorative
Erstein Notgeld 5 Pfennigs
A World War I emergency small-change coin issued by the town of Erstein in 1917, with the civic coat of arms on one side and a large 5 on the other.
Token/notgeld
Erstein Notgeld 50 Pfennigs
A 1917 German emergency-money token for 50 Pfennigs from Erstein in Alsace, with the town coat of arms on the obverse and a large 50 on the reverse.
Token/notgeld
Denarius of Marcus Aurelius
Roman silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius (c. 170-171 AD): laureate bearded emperor on the obverse, a standing personification on the reverse.
Ancient
South Africa 5 Shillings
A large 1952 South African silver crown marking Cape Town's 300th anniversary, with King George VI and a sailing-ship reverse.
Circulation
Oaxaca 20 Centavos
A copper 20 centavos struck by revolutionary-era Oaxaca in 1915, showing a profiled bust on a round base and a large numeral 20 with the Mexican eagle.
Revolutionary
Romania International Year of Chemistry Commemorative
Romanian silver 10 lei commemorative dated 2011, issued for the International Year of Chemistry with molecular, laboratory and scientist imagery.
Commemorative
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
Qajar 5 Tomans Commemorative
A late Qajar gold 5 Tomans of Persia showing Ahmad Shah Qajar in a laurel wreath and the national Lion emblem, dated 1299.
Persia / Iran
Denarius of Trajan
Silver denarius of the emperor Trajan (98–117 AD), showing his laureate bust and, on this piece, Libertas standing with patera and rod.
Ancient
Denarius of Pertinax
A rare silver denarius of Pertinax, Roman emperor for 86 days in 193 AD, showing his laureate portrait and a personification reverse.
Ancient
Susan B. Anthony Dollar
U.S. small-size copper-nickel clad dollar coin (1979–1981, 1999) featuring suffragist Susan B. Anthony and an eagle landing on the moon.
Dollar
Denarius of Septimius Severus
Silver denarius of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus (193–211 AD), showing his laureate head and a standing reverse figure.
Ancient
Sestertius of Commodus
A large Roman bronze sestertius of Emperor Commodus (180–192 AD), his laureate bearded head on one side and a standing figure on the other.
Ancient
Mughal Quarter-Rupee
A small hammered Mughal silver quarter-rupee inscribed in Persian, struck at the Lahore mint and dated Ilahi 47 (AD 1602-1603).
Historic
Shield Nickel
The first U.S. five-cent piece struck in copper-nickel, showing a Union shield on the obverse and a large numeral 5 on the reverse, made 1866–1883.
Nickel Five Cent
Antiochos IV Epiphanes Tetradrachm
Large silver tetradrachm of the Seleucid king Antiochos IV Epiphanes, 175-164 BC, with his diademed head and an enthroned deity reverse.
Ancient
Denarius of Antoninus Pius
Silver denarius of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD), with his laureate portrait facing right and a legend-and-figure reverse.
Ancient
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
Prussian Taler
A large silver taler of the Kingdom of Prussia showing the crowned profile of Frederick II and a heraldic coat of arms, struck through the mid-to-late 1700s.
German States