Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
United Arab Emirates Dirham
Federal currency introduced in 1973 after the formation of the UAE, unifying the emirates' varied prior currencies into a single dirham divided into 100 fils.
Asian
Philip the Arab Antoninianus
Radiate coin of Philip the Arab, notable for celebrating Rome's 1,000th anniversary in 248 AD with a memorable series of animal-themed 'Saecular Games' reverse types.
Ancient
Egyptian Pound (gold)
Egypt's principal gold coin, struck from the Khedivate through the Sultanate and early Kingdom era, carrying the ruler's portrait or tughra and Arabic legends.
Africa & Oceania
Egyptian 10 Piastres (silver)
A workhorse silver coin of Khedival, Sultanate, and Kingdom-era Egypt, one-tenth of a pound and commonly found in worn circulated grades from decades of daily use.
Africa & Oceania
Egyptian Farouk 5 Piastres
Silver five-piastre coin of the Kingdom of Egypt struck during the reign of King Farouk, featuring his portrait or cipher alongside Arabic denomination legends.
Africa & Oceania
Roman Republic Denarius
The workhorse silver coin of the Roman Republic, introduced during the Second Punic War and struck by a long line of moneyers with ever-changing, often political, designs.
Ancient
Egyptian Qirsh (Muhammad Ali Era)
Silver-billon piastre struck in Egypt under Muhammad Ali Pasha in the name of the Ottoman Sultan, reflecting Egypt's growing autonomy within the empire.
Africa & Oceania
South African Republic Burgers Pond
The first coin struck for an independent South African state, issued in 1874 under President Thomas Burgers of the Transvaal, famous for its 'coarse beard' and 'fine beard' portrait varieties.
Africa & Oceania
United States Trade Dollar
A heavier silver dollar issued specifically for trade with China and East Asia, the Trade Dollar circulated internationally before being demonetized and later collected as a design classic.
United States
Republican Victoriatus
A lighter-weight Roman Republican silver coin depicting Jupiter and a Victory crowning a trophy, used largely for trade with the Greek-influenced south.
Ancient
Republican Quinarius
A half-denarius silver coin of the Roman Republic, often depicting the twin gods Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri) riding on horseback.
Ancient
Unite
A gold twenty-shilling coin introduced by James I in 1604 to celebrate the union of the English and Scottish crowns, its name literally symbolizing the joining of the two kingdoms.
British
Ptolemy I Soter Tetradrachm
A silver tetradrachm bearing the realistic portrait of Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, whose eagle-on-thunderbolt reverse became the enduring badge of Ptolemaic coinage.
Ancient
Umayyad Silver Dirham
A silver coin of the Umayyad Caliphate struck after Caliph Abd al-Malik's monetary reform, bearing only Arabic inscriptions and setting the template for centuries of Islamic coinage.
World
Saudi Arabian Riyal (silver)
The standardized silver riyal introduced by King Abdulaziz to unify the currency of the newly formed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, featuring Arabic inscriptions and national emblems without a ruler's portrait.
Asian
Mamluk Gold Dinar
A gold dinar of the Mamluk Sultanate, which ruled Egypt and Syria for over two and a half centuries, continuing the Islamic epigraphic gold coinage tradition until the Ottoman conquest.
World
Saudi Arabian Gold Guinea (Sovereign)
A gold coin issued by Saudi Arabia sized like the British sovereign, popularly called a guinea, historically important for Hajj pilgrims and gold-based savings rather than everyday circulation.
Asian
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Dollar (Junk Dollar)
A Republic of China silver dollar honoring founding father Sun Yat-sen, nicknamed the junk dollar for its reverse image of a traditional Chinese sailing ship, a widely collected 1930s Chinese coin.
Asian
Colombia 8 Reales
Silver 8 reales struck first under Spanish colonial rule in New Granada and later, after independence, in the name of the new Colombian republic.
Latin American
Mexican 8 Reales Cap and Rays
The classic silver dollar of independent Mexico, showing a radiant Phrygian liberty cap over mountains, widely trusted and traded across the Americas and Asia for most of the 19th century.
Latin American
Sun Yat-sen 'Memento' 1 Dollar (1927)
Silver dollar bearing the portrait of Sun Yat-sen, struck to commemorate the founding of the Republic of China and widely circulated under the Nationalist government.
Asian
Venetian Ducat
Gold coin first struck by the Republic of Venice in 1284, prized for its remarkably consistent weight and purity, which made it a dominant trade coin across medieval and Renaissance Europe.
European
Brutus EID MAR Denarius
One of the most famous coins in existence, issued by Julius Caesar's assassin Brutus to commemorate the Ides of March, showing two daggers flanking a cap of liberty.
Ancient
Mark Antony Legionary Denarius
A widely produced denarius struck by Mark Antony to pay his legions before the Battle of Actium, each type naming a specific Roman legion on the reverse.
Ancient