Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
20 Francs Napoleon
A small 21 mm French gold coin bearing Napoleon III's profile and a wreathed 20 FRANCS reverse — the classic gold Napoleon, here dated 1857.
Bullion
British Bank Token
Copper token of the late George III period bearing the king's left-facing bust and a quartered royal-arms reverse, dated 1819.
British Isles
Walking Liberty Half Dollar Centennial Gold
A 2016-W gold collector coin marking the centennial of the 1916 Walking Liberty half dollar, struck in 1/2 oz of 24-karat gold at West Point.
Half Dollar
Gold Sovereign
The British gold sovereign: a one-pound gold coin. This 1817 George III example shows a laureate bust and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms.
World
Penny of William IV
A large copper penny of King William IV, struck in the 1830s, with the king's right-facing head and the Latin legend GULIELMUS IIII D:G.
Milled
Three Graces Pattern Crown
A celebrated 1817 silver pattern crown of George III, engraved by William Wyon and never issued for circulation — a prized masterpiece of British coinage.
Pattern
Imperial Chervonets
A small imperial Russian gold chervonets bearing the right-facing bust of Peter III with regalia and the crowned double-headed eagle, dated 1762.
Early Modern
Cartwheel Twopence
The massive 1797 copper twopence of George III, famous for its broad raised rim and full ounce of copper, struck at Boulton's Soho Mint.
Milled
British Groat
A small George III silver fourpence of 1792, the British groat: laureate king's profile obverse, crowned shield and value reverse.
Circulation
Bank of England Dollar
A George III silver dollar issued by the Bank of England in 1804, struck over Spanish eight-reales coins, with a laureate bust and a crowned shield reverse.
Milled
Eisenhower Centennial Dollar
A 1990 U.S. commemorative silver dollar marking 100 years since Dwight D. Eisenhower's birth, with his left-facing profile and his Gettysburg home on the reverse.
Dollar
William IV One Rupee
Silver one-rupee coin of British India struck in 1835 under the East India Company, bearing the right-facing bust of King William IV.
British India
Crown of George IV
A milled silver crown of George IV, with a laureate head facing left and Pistrucci's St George and the dragon on the reverse; the photographed piece is dated 1822.
Milled
Counterfeit Guinea
A base-metal (copper or brass) imitation of a George III gold guinea, struck or cast to deceive, showing a right-facing bust and a heraldic shield reverse.
Counterfeit
Long Cross Penny
Hand-struck medieval English silver penny with a crowned royal bust and a long voided cross reaching the rim, dividing the reverse legend.
Medieval Coins
Restoration Anniversary Peso
A silver Dominican one-peso commemorative dated 1963, marking the centennial of the Restoration, with a Liberty head obverse and the national arms.
Commemorative
Imitation Guinea Gaming Piece
A brass or bronze token imitating a George III spade guinea, made for card games and gaming tables rather than as legal-tender money.
British Isles
Cartwheel Penny
The heavy 1797 copper penny of George III, with a broad raised rim and sunken lettering, struck by steam power at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint.
Milled
Alexander the Great Gold Stater
Gold stater struck in the name of Alexander the Great, with a helmeted Athena obverse and Nike holding a wreath on the reverse; this example c. 323-315 BC.
Ancient
Alexander the Great Gold Quarter Stater
A small gold fraction of the Alexander the Great coinage, showing the head of Heracles and an eagle perched on a thunderbolt, the attributes of Zeus.
Ancient
500 Yen Japanese Immigration Commemorative
A 2008 Japanese 500 yen commemorative marking 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil, with two figures on one side and a ship on the other.
Commemorative
Colombia 8 Escudos (Base Metal)
A base-metal (copper-alloy) piece styled after the colonial Colombian 8 escudos gold onza, with a Charles III profile and crowned heraldic arms dated 1760.
Colonial
Alexander the Great Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Alexander III of Macedon with the head of Heracles in a lion skin and an enthroned deity holding an eagle on the reverse.
Ancient
8 Reales (Portrait/Bust Type)
Large silver Spanish Empire dollar showing the bust of King Carlos III and a crowned coat of arms with lions and castles.
World Coins