Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
20 Francs (Leopold II)
Belgium's gold 20 francs under King Leopold II, a small Latin Monetary Union coin with the bearded king's profile and the crowned national arms.
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
Napoleon III 20 Francs
French gold 20 francs of Emperor Napoleon III, showing his bare head facing right and a wreathed value on the reverse; example dated 1857.
World Coins
50 Centimes Semeuse
A small silver French 50 centimes with Roty's striding Semeuse (sower) on the obverse and the value within the national motto on the reverse.
Circulation
20 Francs Napoleon
A small 21 mm French gold coin bearing Napoleon III's profile and a wreathed 20 FRANCS reverse — the classic gold Napoleon, here dated 1857.
Bullion
Tunisia 20 Francs (Brass)
A brass 20 francs of French-protectorate Tunisia dated 1950, with Arabic script and geometric design on one face and 'TUNISIE / 20 FRANCS' on the other.
World
Empire 20 Pesos
A gold 20 pesos of the Second Mexican Empire, showing a bearded imperial portrait, the legend IMPERIO MEXICANO, and a crowned heraldic coat of arms.
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
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
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
Xuantong Yuanbao 20 Cents
A small late-Qing silver 20-cent coin with a Western-style dragon, the English legend FIRST YEAR OF HSUAN TUNG, and Chinese characters reading Xuantong Yuanbao.
Circulation
Crown of George III (Incorrupta)
A milled crown of George III dated 1817, named for its INCORRUPTA reverse legend, showing a laureate draped bust and crowned royal arms.
Milled
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
1 Franc (Leopold II)
A late-19th-century Belgian silver franc of King Leopold II, with his left-facing profile on the obverse and a crowned coat of arms on the reverse.
Modern
20 Reales (Isabel II)
Crown-sized Spanish silver 20 Reales of Queen Isabel II, with her crowned right-facing profile and a crowned pillared shield, dated 1854.
Modern
Long Cross Penny
Hand-struck medieval English silver penny with a crowned royal bust and a long voided cross reaching the rim, dividing the reverse legend.
Medieval Coins
Tanzania 200 Shillings
A golden-brass circulating coin of the United Republic of Tanzania, showing a large African animal in grass with a bold 200 and a Swahili shilling legend.
World
Silver Dirham (LACMA M.2002.1.437)
A thin, broad 8th-century Islamic silver dirham covered in Kufic Arabic inscriptions, with no portrait or image — only religious legends and decorative flourishes.
Islamic (Medieval)
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)
Lebanese 1 Piastre
A small holed bronze 1 Piastre of Greater Lebanon dated 1925, struck under the French Mandate, with bilingual legends and an ornamental wreath framing the value.
World
20 Kroner
Danish aluminum-bronze 20 Kroner of 1990 honoring Queen Margrethe II, with a crown over a marguerite daisy and the dates 1940 and 1990.
Modern
Egypt 20 Qirsh
The 20 qirsh was Egypt's largest silver coin under the Khedivate, bearing the Ottoman sultan's tughra; this example dates to 1905.
World
Swedish Gold Commemorative
An early-20th-century Swedish gold coin showing a right-facing royal profile with the legend SVERIGES KONUNG and the fatherland motto.
Commemorative