Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
Roanoke Island Half Dollar
A 1937 U.S. silver half dollar marking 350 years since the Roanoke Island colony and the birth of Virginia Dare, with Sir Walter Raleigh and a sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
East India Company Half Anna
Large copper Half Anna of the East India Company, dated 1835, with laurel-wreath legend and the Company's heraldic lion-and-shield arms.
British India
Iowa Centennial Half Dollar
A 1946 U.S. silver half dollar marking a century of Iowa statehood, showing the Old Stone Capitol at Iowa City and the state eagle with the Iowa motto.
Classic Commemorative
East India Company One Mohur
A machine-struck gold mohur of the East India Company bearing the young Queen Victoria, with a left-facing bust and the legend 'VICTORIA QUEEN', dated 1841.
British India
Denarius of Otho
Silver denarius of the emperor Otho, struck at Rome during his brief AD 69 reign, showing his bare head right with the legend IMP OTHO CAESAR.
Ancient
Irish Gun Money Halfcrown (30 Pence)
Emergency base-metal halfcrown struck for James II in Ireland during 1689–1690, valued at 30 pence and carrying his portrait and, on many issues, the month of striking.
Emergency Coinage
Netherlands East Indies 2 Cent
A wartime 1945 bronze 2-cent coin of the Dutch colony of the Netherlands East Indies, showing the crowned Netherlands shield and an ornate colonial reverse.
Southeast Asia
Siliqua of Jovian
Small late-Roman silver siliqua of Emperor Jovian (AD 363–364), with his right-facing portrait and a Victory or standing deity reverse.
Ancient
Gold Mohur of Akbar
Aniconic gold coin of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), struck in Persian calligraphy in the Ilahi coinage style.
Mughal India
Aureus of Nero
Roman imperial gold aureus of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD), showing his curly-haired portrait facing right with a Latin imperial legend.
Ancient Coins
East India Company Quarter Anna
Large copper 1/4 anna of the East India Company dated 1835, with a heraldic lion-and-shield obverse and a laurel-wreath reverse.
British India
Styca of Aethelred
Small base-metal coin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, naming King Aethelred, with a central device and legend on one face and a cross on the other.
Medieval Coins
Denarius of Trajan
Silver denarius of the emperor Trajan (98–117 AD), showing his laureate bust and, on this piece, Libertas standing with patera and rod.
Ancient
George IV One Sixteenth Spanish Dollar
A small George IV silver coin of the "Anchor Money" series, worth one-sixteenth of a Spanish dollar and marked with an anchor and Roman numeral XVI.
Colonial
Long Island Tercentenary Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking 300 years of settlement on Long Island, with accolated settler and Native American heads and a Dutch sailing ship.
Classic Commemorative
Islamic Gold Dinar (LACMA M.2006.143.8)
A medieval Islamic gold dinar in the LACMA collection, struck with purely calligraphic Arabic legends and a decorative border — the classic imageless coin of the caliphates.
Islamic (Medieval)
Israel Half Lira (25th Anniversary)
A silver Israeli half lira dated 1973, the year the young state marked 25 years of independence, carrying a menorah-and-sprigs emblem and a Hebrew value.
World
Koban with Dutch East Indies Counterstamp
An Edo-period Japanese gold koban bearing later punched marks, including a Japanese character cartouche and a Dutch coat-of-arms counterstamp.
Colonial
Roman Imperial Denarius (Unidentified)
A silver denarius of the Roman Empire, 2nd century AD, showing an emperor's right-facing curly-haired portrait and a standing imperial reverse type.
Ancient
Elgin Illinois Centennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking the centennial of Elgin, Illinois, with a bearded pioneer head and a pioneer-family memorial group on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
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
George IV One Eighth Spanish Dollar
Small 1822 British colonial silver coin from the George IV "Anchor Money," a fraction of the Spanish dollar used in the West Indies and Mauritius.
Colonial
Dirham of al-Mahdi
A silver Abbasid dirham struck under Caliph al-Mahdi in AH 166 (783 CE), its faces filled with linear Kufic Arabic legends declaring the Islamic faith.
Islamic (Medieval)