Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
500 Reis
A Portuguese silver 500 Reis of Queen Maria II, with her left-facing draped bust on the obverse and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
Shilling of Anne
A machine-struck silver shilling of Queen Anne, with her draped bust facing right and a reverse of crowned shields bearing the royal arms in a cross.
Milled
Shilling of Edward VI
A hammered Tudor silver shilling of Edward VI, showing the young king's crowned profile and a reverse cross over the quartered royal-arms shield.
World
Denarius of Didius Julianus
A silver denarius of Didius Julianus, the short-lived emperor of 193 AD, bearing his laureate portrait and an imperial standing reverse.
Ancient
Roman Republican Denarius (Unidentified)
A silver Roman Republican denarius of about 115-114 BC: helmeted Roma on the obverse, Victory driving a two-horse chariot on the reverse.
Ancient
Denarius of Caracalla
A silver denarius of the Roman emperor Caracalla, struck 198–217 CE, showing his laureate right-facing bust and a Latin legend encircling the design.
Ancient
Penny of Cnut
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of King Cnut (Canute), showing a diademed bust facing left with a cross-and-pellets reverse, struck c.1024-1030.
Medieval Coins
Short Cross Penny
Hammered silver penny of Henry II showing a crowned facing-left royal portrait and a cross-crosslet (cross-and-crosslets) reverse.
Medieval Coins
Penny of William I
Hammered silver penny of William the Conqueror, the example showing a profile portrait of the king and a decorated cross reverse, struck circa 1075.
Medieval Coins
Chilean Peso (1875 Type)
A silver one-peso coin of Chile: the national coat of arms with its lone star and laurel wreaths on one side, and a large bird in flight on the other.
Circulation
Antiochos Hierax Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of the Seleucid prince Antiochos Hierax, c. 242-227 BC, with a diademed royal head and a reverse figure bearing shield and spear.
Ancient
Parthian Drachm
Silver drachm of the Parthian (Arsacid) Empire, pairing a bearded royal profile with a seated archer holding a bow, struck in the era of Mithradates II.
Ancient
Duro (5 Pesetas)
A large .900 silver five-peseta crown struck under Spain's Provisional Government, with a profile head personifying Hispania and a crowned coat of arms reverse.
Modern
French Semeuse 50 Centimes
A small French silver coin showing the striding Semeuse (Sower) with a liberty cap; the reverse frames the value 50 CENTIMES in an oak-and-olive wreath.
Circulation
Maundy Money Threepence
A tiny sterling-silver British threepence; the 1687 James II example shows a crowned bust and a crowned Roman numeral III on the reverse.
Maundy
Shilling of George II
A milled silver shilling of George II, with a left-facing bust reading GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA and a crowned cruciform-shields reverse; this one is a 1736 roses and plumes issue.
Milled
Penny of Offa
Thin silver penny of King Offa of Mercia, showing a portrait or name inscription and a cross with geometric ornament on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
Shah Jahan Half Rupee
Silver half rupee of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, dated AH 1055, carrying Persian-script inscriptions and ornamental borders instead of any portrait.
Mughal India
Dirham of Caliph al-Mansur
An Abbasid silver dirham dated AH 150 (767 CE), from the reign of Caliph al-Mansur, bearing purely Arabic religious inscriptions and a named mint.
Islamic (Medieval)
Vespasian Judaea Capta Denarius
Silver denarius of Emperor Vespasian (71–79 AD) with his laureate bust and a Judaea Capta reverse showing a mourning seated captive.
Ancient
Sixpence of James I
A hammered silver sixpence of James I of England: crowned profile bust with VI value mark, and a dated garnished shield over a cross on the reverse.
Hammered
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
British Columbia Centennial Dollar
A 1958 Canadian silver dollar marking British Columbia's centennial, showing a Pacific Northwest totem pole and the dates 1858–1958.
Canadian & Provincial
Shilling of Victoria
A milled sterling-silver British shilling of Queen Victoria, worth twelvepence, with the queen's head on the obverse and a crowned 'ONE SHILLING' reverse.
Milled