Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Byzantine Follis
Large bronze follis of the Byzantine Empire, this example under Constans II (from 641 AD), with an imperial portrait and a big M value mark topped by a cross.
Medieval
50 Öre (Silver)
A small Swedish silver 50 ore of the Oscar II era, dated 1898, with the value and date in a laurel wreath on one side and the crowned Swedish arms on the other.
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
100 Lei
A scarce Kingdom of Romania gold 100 Lei of 1939, showing King Carol II in profile on the obverse and the crowned Romanian coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
Irish Gun Money Shilling
A base-metal Irish emergency shilling struck for James II in 1689-1690, with his laureate bust and a crowned reverse dated by month, here October 1689.
Emergency Coinage
1 Kopeck
Small copper 1 Kopeck of Imperial Russia dated 1908, with the value in a wreath on one side and the crowned double-headed eagle on the other.
Modern
Tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII of Egypt, c. 170-116 BC, with a diademed royal head on the obverse and an eagle on a thunderbolt reverse.
Ancient
Congolese Commemorative Coin
An 1889 holed copper 10-centime coin of the Congo Free State, with a radiant five-pointed star, the value 10 C, and a ring of small stars.
World
Trinidad and Tobago 5 Cents
A bronze five-cent coin of Trinidad and Tobago showing a perched bird — the Greater Bird of Paradise, often mistaken for a parrot — with FIVE CENTS on the reverse.
Circulation
Silver Rupee of Bharatpur State
Silver rupee of the Jat princely state of Bharatpur, struck at the Mahe Indrapur mint in the name of the Mughal emperor Akbar II.
Asian
Bermuda Crown
Bermuda's 1959 silver Crown: Queen Elizabeth II in profile on the obverse, two sailing ships above the island group on the reverse.
Commemorative
Papua New Guinea 5 Kina
Papua New Guinea's 1975 five-kina coin: Queen Elizabeth II in profile on the obverse, a bird-of-paradise with the K5 denomination on the reverse.
Circulation
Belgian Congo 1 Franc
An early silver franc struck for the Congo under King Leopold II, pairing a laureate portrait with grain stalks and the value.
World
British Decimal Half Penny
The smallest UK decimal coin, a tiny bronze half-penny introduced with decimalisation in 1971, bearing a crown reverse and the Machin portrait of Elizabeth II.
British Isles
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
Isle of Man Noble
The Isle of Man Noble: the world's first platinum bullion coin, pairing a crowned Queen Elizabeth II with a Viking longship reverse.
Bullion
Belize 1 Cent
A small bronze one-cent coin from the Caribbean nation now called Belize, carrying a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and dated 1954.
Circulation
Australian Kookaburra
Perth Mint silver bullion coin with a changing kookaburra reverse and a Queen Elizabeth II obverse; this 2 Dollars piece is a 2 oz .999 fine silver coin dated 2012.
Bullion