Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British Britannia Silver Coin
A modern UK bullion coin in fine silver, carrying a face value of 2 Pounds and the classic seated figure of Britannia with shield and trident.
Bullion
British Half Sovereign
A small 22-carat British gold coin worth ten shillings; the pictured example shows Queen Victoria's left-facing Young Head portrait, dated 1863.
British
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
Gold Guinea
English gold coin of the Guinea denomination; the example shown bears the right-facing bust of Charles II with a crowned cruciform shield reverse dated 1668.
World Coins
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
American Gold Eagle
The United States' official gold bullion coin since 1986, struck in 22-karat gold in four sizes with a Saint-Gaudens striding Liberty obverse.
Bullion
Celtic Gold Quarter Stater
A small Iron Age gold coin struck by the Celtic peoples of ancient Britain, valued at one-quarter of a full stater and marked by abstract, geometric designs.
Ancient
Vienna Philharmonic (Gold)
Austria's flagship gold bullion coin, struck in 99.99% fine gold by the Austrian Mint and themed around the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
Bullion
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
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)
Half Sovereign
A small British 22-carat gold coin worth ten shillings; this example shows Queen Victoria's veiled, crowned Jubilee Head portrait and is dated 1887.
World Coins
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
Krugerrand
South Africa's 1 oz gold bullion coin, with Paul Kruger's portrait on the obverse and a leaping springbok on the reverse; this piece is dated 1975.
Bullion
1 Pahlavi Gold Coin
A gold coin of Pahlavi-era Iran, with Persian text and a crowned royal emblem on one side and the Lion and Sun within laurel wreaths on the other.
Persia / Iran
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
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
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
Bahawalpur Gold Coin
A gold coin or medallic piece linked to the princely state of Bahawalpur, its obverse bearing a uniformed royal portrait and its reverse an ornate coat of arms.
South Asia
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
British East Africa Half Shilling
A small low-fineness silver coin of British East Africa bearing King George VI; the half shilling equalled fifty cents in the East African system.
World
Gold Crown of Henry VIII (Third Coinage)
A hammered Tudor gold crown of five shillings struck during Henry VIII's Third Coinage, the debased issue that earned him the nickname "Old Coppernose."
Hammered
Half Guinea of George II
A small British gold coin of the reign of George II, worth half a guinea, with the king's left-facing bust and a crowned heraldic shield reverse.
Milled
Romania International Year of Chemistry Commemorative
Romanian silver 10 lei commemorative dated 2011, issued for the International Year of Chemistry with molecular, laboratory and scientist imagery.
Commemorative
Gold Mohur of Akbar
Aniconic gold coin of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), struck in Persian calligraphy in the Ilahi coinage style.
Mughal India