Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Braided Hair Large Cent
The last U.S. large copper cent: Liberty in a beaded coronet with braided hair, ringed by stars, over a laurel-wreath ONE CENT reverse.
Large Cent
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
Hong Kong 20 Cents
A small British Hong Kong silver 20 Cents of Edward VII, with the crowned royal profile on one side and a Chinese dragon and value on the other.
Circulation
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
Chiconcuautla 20 Centavos
A 1915 copper 20 centavos struck as a local Revolutionary-era issue at Chiconcuautla, with a numeral 20 on one side and the Mexican national eagle on the other.
Revolutionary
10 Cash (Republic)
A Republic of China bronze 10 Cash: a round machine-struck copper piece with a central ornament and characters on one face and a decorative inscribed reverse.
Cash Coin
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
Roman Denarius
A small hammered silver coin of ancient Rome, showing an emperor's portrait and abbreviated Latin titles on one side and a deity or figure on the other.
Ancient
Ancient Sicilian Silver Coin
A silver coin of ancient Greek Sicily, showing a female goddess or nymph head on one face and a two-horse chariot (biga) on the other.
Ancient
Swiss 2 Francs
A silver Swiss 2 Francs dated 1860, with the value and date in a wreath on one side and a seated Helvetia bearing the Swiss cross on the other.
Circulation
France 10 Cent Euro
France's gold-coloured 10 euro cent: the striding Sower for the French Republic on one side, a European map and the value 10 on the other.
Circulation
Gold Stater of the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes
An Iron Age British gold stater of the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes, showing stylized wheat/barley ears on one face and a dynamic horse on the other.
Ancient
Indian Head Gold Dollar
Tiny U.S. one-dollar gold coin (1854–1889) with an Indian-princess Liberty in a feathered headdress and a denomination-and-date wreath reverse.
Gold Dollar
Eighth Thistle Merk
A small hammered silver Scottish coin of James VI, showing a crowned heraldic shield of arms on one side and a crowned thistle on the other.
Hammered
Yuan Shikai Dollar
A silver one-yuan dollar of the early Chinese Republic bearing the left-facing bust of Yuan Shikai, nicknamed the "Fatman Dollar" by collectors.
Circulation
Guangxu Yuanbao 20 Cents
A machine-struck Qing silver 20 cents of the Guangxu era, with a coiled dragon on one face and a yin-yang (taiji) symbol on the other.
Circulation
Aratame Sanbu Sadame
A round silver-colored coin with a coiled dragon and the inscription Aratame Sanbu Sadame on one face and a radiating sun on the other, dated 1859.
Historic
Sestertius of Nero (Port of Ostia)
A large brass sestertius of the emperor Nero (54–68 AD) showing his portrait on one side and a bird's-eye view of the harbour at Ostia on the other.
Ancient
Antoninianus of Claudius II
A billon antoninianus of the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus (268–270 AD), showing his radiate bust on one side and a standing deity on the other.
Ancient
100 Dinara
A copper-nickel 100 Dinara circulation coin of socialist Yugoslavia dated 1987, with a big numeral 100 on one face and the Yugoslav state emblem on the other.
Modern
20 Para
A small base-metal coin of socialist Yugoslavia, showing the value 20 with the date 1974 on one side and the six-flame Yugoslav state emblem on the other.
Modern
1 Litas
A 1991 Lithuanian one-litas coin from the first coinage after restored independence, showing the value with a radiating pattern and the Vytis knight of the national arms.
Modern
France 50 Cent Euro
France's gold-coloured 50 euro cent coin, showing the striding Sower (Marianne) among the EU stars on one side and the value 50 on the other.
Circulation
France 20 Centimes
A small gold-colored French Fifth Republic coin showing Marianne in profile, worth one-fifth of a franc, struck for four decades before the euro.
Circulation