Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Denier of Charles the Bald
A small hammered silver denier of the Carolingian king Charles the Bald (r. 840–877), pairing a cross or monogram design with a ruler's profile.
Medieval
Swiss 5 Francs
Large .900 silver Swiss crown of 1888–1916, showing a Helvetia head on one face and the Swiss cross shield within a wreath on the other.
World
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
Thailand One Baht
A silver one-baht coin of Siam struck under King Rama VI, its obverse bearing the young king's uniformed profile within Thai royal inscriptions.
Southeast Asia
5 Francs (First Republic)
A large silver 5-franc crown of the French First Republic, dated by the revolutionary calendar as L'an 9 (1800–1801), with a right-facing Liberty head.
Circulation
Thailand One Baht Commemorative
A 1961 Thai one-baht commemorative bearing the conjoined profiles of King Rama IX and Queen Sirikit, paired with the Thai royal arms on the reverse.
Southeast Asia
German 10 Deutsche Mark Commemorative
A West/unified German silver 10 Deutsche Mark commemorative; this 1995 issue honors Heinrich der Loewe (Henry the Lion) with the Federal Eagle reverse.
Commemorative
Venetian Grosso (Matapan)
High-purity silver Grosso of medieval Venice: the Doge kneeling before St. Mark on the obverse, an enthroned Christ on the reverse.
Medieval
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
English Shilling
English silver shilling of William III, showing his right-facing laureate bust and a crowned cruciform-shield reverse; this example is dated 1692.
World Coin
Washington Quarter
U.S. twenty-five-cent coin introduced in 1932, showing George Washington's profile and an eagle reverse; early issues struck in 90% silver.
Quarter
50 Sen (Dragon Type)
A Meiji-era Japanese silver 50 sen: a coiled dragon on one face, a sunburst-and-wreath value design on the other, dated Meiji 4 (1871).
Circulation
French Semeuse 5 Francs
A silver French 5-franc coin of the Fifth Republic showing the Sower (Semeuse) striding left, with a flowered wreath around the value on the reverse.
Circulation
Akçe
The akçe was the tiny silver coin at the heart of the early Ottoman economy, struck with Arabic-script inscriptions and no portrait or figural imagery.
Medieval
Denarius of Geta
Silver denarius of the Severan prince Geta, showing his youthful bust with a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient
British Sixpence
Small British silver sixpence (6d); this example is an 1888 Queen Victoria 'Jubilee head' with the crowned, veiled bust.
British Isles
Macao 100 Patacas Return to China Commemorative
A 1999 Macao 100 patacas commemorative marking the return to China: a Portuguese ship with a gold center on one side, the Macao coat of arms on the other.
Commemorative
Denarius of Elagabalus
Silver denarius of the young Severan emperor Elagabalus (218–222 AD), with his laureate bust and a standing personified deity on the reverse.
Ancient
English Sixpence
A hammered silver sixpence of James I, showing his crowned profile bust and a quartered royal shield with a long cross on the reverse.
Hammered
Anglo-Saxon Sceatta
Tiny thick silver coin of early Anglo-Saxon England, the example showing a stylized bird with geometric patterns and symbolic reverse designs.
Medieval Coins
Samanid Dirham
A hand-struck silver dirham of the Samanid dynasty, covered on both sides in Arabic Kufic script naming God, the caliph and the mint — no images at all.
Islamic (Medieval)
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
Aurangzeb Rupee
A broad, hand-struck silver rupee of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (Alamgir), carrying a Persian couplet and mint-and-year data rather than the usual Islamic creed.
Asian
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