Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
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
40 Francs Napoleon
A large early French gold 40 francs of Napoleon's Consulate, with the bare-headed BONAPARTE PREMIER CONSUL bust and a laurel-framed 40 FRANCS reverse dated 1804.
Bullion
French 40 Francs Gold (Napoleon I)
A large early French gold coin showing Napoleon Bonaparte's left-facing profile and a wreathed reverse, struck in the opening years of his rule.
Bullion/gold
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
German 20 Mark Gold
German Empire gold 20 mark of Prussia, with Kaiser Wilhelm I's bust and the imperial eagle; a small .900 gold coin from the pre-WWI Goldmark era.
Bullion/gold
20 Drachmai
Greece's 1884 gold 20 Drachmai of King George I: a small Latin Monetary Union gold coin with the king's portrait and the crowned royal arms.
Modern
20 Lei
Romania's first gold coin, the 1870 20 Lei of Prince Carol I, pairing his left-facing portrait with the national coat of arms.
Modern
Antiochos III Tetradrachm
A large Seleucid silver coin of Antiochos III the Great, showing his diademed head and a seated deity holding shield and spear.
Ancient
Japanese 20 Yen
Early Meiji-era Japanese gold coin showing a dragon among clouds on one side and a floral design with the 20 yen denomination on the other.
World Coins
Indian Head Gold Dollar
Tiny U.S. one-dollar gold coin (1854–1889) with an Indian-princess Liberty in a feathered headdress and a denomination-and-date wreath reverse.
Gold Dollar
Half Sovereign of George III
British 22-carat gold half sovereign of George III, introduced in 1817 with a laureate bust and a crowned shield of arms; face value ten shillings.
Milled
Edward III Noble
Large medieval English gold coin of King Edward III, showing the crowned king standing in a ship and an ornate floral cross on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
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
French Silver Franc
A small Third Republic silver 1-franc coin with an allegorical Marianne head and a REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE reverse; the pictured piece is dated 1899.
World
Edward III Quarter Noble
Small medieval English gold coin of Edward III, showing a crowned shield of arms on the obverse and an ornate floral cross design on the reverse.
Medieval Coins
Edward III Half Noble
Medieval English gold coin worth half a noble, this example showing King Edward III crowned with heraldic devices and a shielded, ornamented reverse.
Medieval Coins
5 Roubles (Alexander III)
An Imperial Russian gold 5 Roubles of Alexander III, showing the tsar's bearded profile and the crowned double-headed eagle, struck in the late 1880s.
Modern
Liberty Head Double Eagle
U.S. $20 gold coin struck 1850–1907, showing a coroneted Liberty head left and a heraldic eagle with shield; the 1869 is a with-motto Type 2.
Double Eagle
Liberty Head Eagle
A United States $10 gold coin struck 1838-1907, with Christian Gobrecht's coronet-crowned Liberty head and a shielded eagle. The example shown is dated 1839.
Eagle
Turban Head Eagle
The first U.S. ten-dollar gold coin, struck 1795–1804, with a right-facing Liberty in a soft cap and an eagle reverse.
Eagle
Liberty Head Half Eagle
United States $5 gold coin with a left-facing Liberty head ringed by stars and a spread-winged eagle reverse; the pictured piece is dated 1838.
United States
Gold Sovereign
The British gold sovereign: a one-pound gold coin. This 1817 George III example shows a laureate bust and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms.
World
Classic Head Quarter Eagle
U.S. $2.50 gold coin struck 1834–1839, with a band-bound Liberty head obverse and a shield-breasted eagle reverse marked "2½ D."
Quarter Eagle