Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
Congolese Commemorative Coin
An 1889 holed copper 10-centime coin of the Congo Free State, with a radiant five-pointed star, the value 10 C, and a ring of small stars.
World
Spanish Colonial Half Real
The smallest milled silver coin of Spain's American empire: a tiny 1/2 real with a royal bust and the crowned arms between pillars.
Colonial
10 Pahlavi Gold Coin
A large gold coin of Imperial Iran valued at ten Pahlavi, showing Mohammad Reza Shah on the obverse and the crowned Lion and Sun on the reverse.
Persia / Iran
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
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
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
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
Massachusetts Shilling (1 Shilling 6 Pence)
A colonial-era Massachusetts silver piece valued at one shilling and sixpence, joining a pine-tree obverse with a rising-sun reverse and the date 1779.
Colonial
Scottish Coin (Uncertain)
A worn hammered copper-alloy Scottish coin, apparently of the reign of Charles I, showing a bearded profile and a heraldic reverse with lettering.
Hammered
Venezuelan Silver Coin (1879)
An 1879 Venezuelan silver coin: the left-facing head of Simón Bolívar on one side and the national coat of arms in a wreath on the other.
Circulation
Spanish Colonial 2 Reales (Milled)
A small milled silver coin of the Spanish Empire, struck in colonial American mints; this example is dated 1776 and shows heraldic lions, castles and a crowned shield.
Colonial
Unidentified Silver Coin (Louis XV era)
An 18th-century French royal silver coin of the Louis XV era, showing a right-facing bust and a crowned fleur-de-lis shield; the exact denomination is not confirmed.
Royal
Philippines One Peso
A silver peso struck for the U.S.-administered Philippine Islands, with a standing Liberty and torch and an eagle-over-shield reverse naming the United States.
Southeast Asia
Pine Tree Shilling
Silver shilling from the Boston mint, struck about 1667–1674 but dated 1652, showing a pine tree beside the legend MASSACHUSETTS.
Colonial
Groat of William IV
A small silver fourpenny piece of William IV (1836–1837), with a seated Britannia reverse; the coin that revived the modern British groat.
Milled
British Decimal Half Penny
The smallest UK decimal coin, a tiny bronze half-penny introduced with decimalisation in 1971, bearing a crown reverse and the Machin portrait of Elizabeth II.
British Isles
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
British Third Farthing
A tiny 1844 Victoria copper coin: young left-facing queen's bust obverse, crowned value reverse. One of Britain's smallest denominations, struck for Malta.
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
Una and the Lion Five Pounds
William Wyon's 1839 gold Five Pounds pairs a young Queen Victoria with Una guiding a lion — widely praised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
British Isles
Maundy One Penny
The smallest British Maundy silver coin, bearing a crowned Roman numeral I; this example was struck in 1687 under James II.
Maundy
British Florin
A Victorian silver two-shilling florin with a crowned, veiled Victoria and a heraldic crowned-shields reverse; the pictured coin is dated 1890.
World
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
Victoria Maundy Twopence
A tiny sterling-silver ceremonial coin from a Royal Maundy set. This 1845 example shows Victoria's young head and a crowned 2 in a wreath.
British Isles