Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
4 Skilling
A Danish copper 4 skilling of 1783, with a crown above a numeral on one face and an ornamental circular pattern framing the date on the other.
Early Modern
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
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
China Panda Gold Coin
A modern Chinese gold bullion coin with the Temple of Heaven on one side and a giant panda on the other; this 2016 issue is a 30-gram gold piece.
Bullion
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
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
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
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
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
Lincoln Wheat Cent
U.S. one-cent coin struck 1909–1958 with Lincoln's profile and a pair of wheat ears framing ONE CENT; the 1909-S here is a scarce first-year San Francisco issue.
Small Cent
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
Spanish Colonial 1 Real (Bourbon)
A small silver coin of Spain's American colonies from the early Bourbon era, showing a cross with ornaments on one side and the crowned royal arms on the other.
Colonial
Ghana 20 Pesewas
A one-year 1967 Ghanaian coin bearing a national eagle and the motto FREEDOM AND JUSTICE, with the country's coat-of-arms shield on the reverse.
World
Guangdong 20 Cents
A silver 20-cent coin of Kwangtung (Guangdong) province, struck under the Guangxu Emperor with a coiled dragon on one side and Chinese legends on the other.
Circulation
British Silver Threepence
Tiny sterling-silver threepence of Queen Victoria; the young-head type shown here dates to 1858 and is one of Britain's smallest circulating coins.
British Isles
Unattributed Gold Coin
A gold-colored coin of uncertain origin: a portrait with East Asian calligraphy on one face and a radiating sunburst within a decorative border on the other.
Unknown
Celtic Gold Quarter Stater
A small Iron Age gold coin struck by the Celtic peoples of ancient Britain, valued at one-quarter of a full stater and marked by abstract, geometric designs.
Ancient
1 Koruna
A lightweight aluminum 1 Koruna of the wartime Slovak state, showing the double-cross national shield on one side and the value 1 Ks flanked by wheat ears.
Modern
Quarter Farthing
Tiny copper coin of Queen Victoria worth one-sixteenth of a penny, struck for use in Ceylon; the smallest-value British denomination ever made.
British Isles
Sierra Leone 20 Cents
A 1964 Sierra Leone 20 cents from the country's first decimal coinage, showing a portrait profile on one side and the national coat of arms with its lion on the other.
World
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
2 Litai
A white base-metal 2 litai of newly independent Lithuania, dated 1991, showing the value in a radiating sunburst on one side and the Vytis mounted knight on the other.
Modern
5 Litai
A nickel-alloy 5 litai of newly independent Lithuania dated 1991, showing the value with radiating lines on one side and the armored knight Vytis on horseback on the other.
Modern