Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
100 Lire
Italy's 1979 100 Lire, a nickel-hued FAO commemorative with a woman's profile on the obverse and an allegorical figure beside the value on the reverse.
Modern
20 Lire
Silver-colored Italian 20 Lire piece of the Fascist era, showing a Mussolini profile and a horse-drawn chariot, dated 1936.
Modern
2 Lire
Silver 2 Lire of the Papal States struck under Pope Pius IX, part of the Italian lira system adopted by Rome in the 1860s.
Modern
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
Tanzania 500 Shillings
A modern base-metal circulating coin of Tanzania carrying a right-facing portrait long associated with the nation's founding president and a Kiswahili legend.
World
Three Cent Nickel
A small copper-nickel three-cent coin with a Liberty head obverse and a Roman numeral III inside a wreath; struck at Philadelphia from 1865 to 1889.
Three Cent
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
Bhutan 500 Ngultrum Commemorative
Modern Bhutanese silver commemorative dated 2008, with a portrait of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and an ornate dragon-and-mythical-creature reverse.
Himalayan
500 Yen Bicolor Clad
Japan's large two-tone 500 yen circulation coin, with a floral blossom design and pearl-like beading on one face and bold value numerals on the other.
Circulation
500 Yen Niigata Prefecture Commemorative
A modern Japanese 500 Yen commemorative for Niigata Prefecture, showing a traditional ship that celebrates the region's maritime and port heritage.
Commemorative
500 Yen Japanese Immigration Commemorative
A 2008 Japanese 500 yen commemorative marking 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil, with two figures on one side and a ship on the other.
Commemorative
Three-Dollar Gold Piece
An unusual U.S. gold coin of the $3 denomination struck 1854–1889, showing a Liberty head in a feathered Indian-style headdress. The photo shows the 1854 first year.
Gold Type Coin
Three Graces Pattern Crown
A celebrated 1817 silver pattern crown of George III, engraved by William Wyon and never issued for circulation — a prized masterpiece of British coinage.
Pattern
5 Escudos
Portugal's copper-nickel 5 Escudos, showing a caravel sailing ship on the obverse and the national shield with the value 5$00 on the reverse.
Modern
2.5 Escudos
A copper-nickel 2.5 Escudos of the Portuguese Republic, showing a sailing caravel on the obverse and the national shield with the value 2$50.
Modern
1 Lira
A tiny, lightweight Vatican City lira of the 1950s under Pius XII, with the tiara-and-keys arms on the obverse and a standing figure of Charity on the reverse.
Modern
Eritrea 1 Lira
Silver 1 lira struck for Italy's colony of Eritrea, dated 1918, with a crowned heraldic emblem and the legend COLONIA ERITREA L.1.
World
New Zealand Threepence
New Zealand's small silver threepence; this 1933 example carries the crowned bust of King George V with GEORGIVS V and his royal titles.
New Zealand
Triple Unite
The largest English hammered gold coin, struck for Charles I during the Civil War and valued at 60 shillings (three pounds).
Hammered
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
Australian Threepence
Australia's small pre-decimal silver threepence (3d), the country's tiniest coin, struck 1910-1964. The example shown carries a George V portrait.
Australian
British Brass Threepence
Chunky twelve-sided nickel-brass threepence of George VI, showing his head and a thrift plant reverse; the example shown is dated 1942.
British Isles
Threepence of Elizabeth I
A hammered silver threepence of Elizabeth I, showing her crowned profile with a rose behind and a dated shield reverse, struck across her long reign.
Hammered
Carver-Washington Half Dollar
A U.S. silver commemorative half dollar (1951–1954) honoring George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington, with their jugate profiles on the obverse.
Classic Commemorative