Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Edward I Penny
Hammered silver penny of Edward I, showing a crowned facing bust on the obverse and a long voided cross with pellets in the quadrants on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
Maundy Three Pence
A tiny sterling-silver threepence tied to Britain's Royal Maundy tradition; the photographed 1687 coin shows James II's bust and a crowned Roman numeral III.
Maundy
Penny of William I
Hammered silver penny of William the Conqueror, the example showing a profile portrait of the king and a decorated cross reverse, struck circa 1075.
Medieval Coins
Duro (5 Pesetas)
A large .900 silver five-peseta crown struck under Spain's Provisional Government, with a profile head personifying Hispania and a crowned coat of arms reverse.
Modern
Short Cross Penny
Hammered silver penny of Henry II showing a crowned facing-left royal portrait and a cross-crosslet (cross-and-crosslets) reverse.
Medieval Coins
Maundy One Penny
The smallest British Maundy silver coin, bearing a crowned Roman numeral I; this example was struck in 1687 under James II.
Maundy
Medieval Penny
England's standard medieval coin: a small hammered silver penny with a crowned royal head on one side and a cross on the other, struck by hand across many reigns.
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
Caballito Peso
A silver Mexican peso nicknamed for the horse on its obverse: an allegorical figure on horseback holding a torch aloft, backed by the eagle-and-serpent arms.
Circulation
Macao 20 Patacas
A silver 20 patacas of Portuguese-administered Macau: the Portuguese coat of arms on one face and a harbor scene with a Chinese junk on the other.
Circulation
Penny of Cynethryth
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of Cynethryth, queen of Mercia and wife of Offa, and the only Anglo-Saxon queen named on her own coinage.
Medieval Coins
Philippines One Peso
A silver peso struck for the U.S.-administered Philippine Islands, with a standing Liberty and torch and an eagle-over-shield reverse naming the United States.
Southeast Asia
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
Maundy Money Penny
Tiny silver penny given as royal alms; this James II example (1687) shows a crowned bust and a crowned Roman numeral I reverse.
Maundy
Parthian Drachm
Silver drachm of the Parthian (Arsacid) Empire, pairing a bearded royal profile with a seated archer holding a bow, struck in the era of Mithradates II.
Ancient
Chilean Peso (1875 Type)
A silver one-peso coin of Chile: the national coat of arms with its lone star and laurel wreaths on one side, and a large bird in flight on the other.
Circulation
25 Pesetas (Franco)
Spain's common Franco-era 25 pesetas, a silvery copper-nickel coin bearing the national coat of arms and the value 25; dated 1957 but struck into the 1970s.
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
Capped Bust Quarter
An early U.S. silver quarter dollar showing Liberty in a cloth cap over a shield-breasted eagle, struck at Philadelphia from 1815 to 1838.
Quarter
Philip and Mary Shilling
Hammered silver shilling of Philip II of Spain and Mary I (1554-1558), showing their paired royal busts and a crowned quartered shield of arms.
Hammered
Philippines 10 Centavos
A small silver 10 centavos of the American-era Philippines: a standing Liberty figure and Mayon volcano on one side, the U.S. eagle and shield on the other.
Southeast Asia
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
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, c. 305-283 BC, with his diademed portrait and the Ptolemaic eagle standing on a thunderbolt.
Ancient
Penny of Aethelred II
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of King Aethelred II showing his diademed bust facing left and a cross with pellets and ornament on the reverse.
Medieval Coins