Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
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
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
Kenya 40 Shillings
A bimetallic Kenyan commemorative coin denominated 40 shillings, pairing a presidential portrait with the national coat of arms.
World
Qajar 5 Tomans Commemorative
A late Qajar gold 5 Tomans of Persia showing Ahmad Shah Qajar in a laurel wreath and the national Lion emblem, dated 1299.
Persia / Iran
Macao 100 Patacas Return to China Commemorative
A 1999 Macao 100 patacas commemorative marking the return to China: a Portuguese ship with a gold center on one side, the Macao coat of arms on the other.
Commemorative
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
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
Laurel
A hammered English gold coin of James I worth twenty shillings, named for the king's laurel-wreathed profile, struck 1619-1625.
Hammered
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle
A 1926 U.S. commemorative $2.50 gold coin marking 150 years of American independence, with Liberty holding a torch and scroll and Independence Hall on the reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Charles I Unite
A large hammered gold coin of Charles I worth twenty shillings, showing his crowned profile and a crowned quartered shield of lions and fleur-de-lis.
Hammered
Triple Unite
The largest English hammered gold coin, struck for Charles I during the Civil War and valued at 60 shillings (three pounds).
Hammered
English Shilling
English silver shilling of William III, showing his right-facing laureate bust and a crowned cruciform-shield reverse; this example is dated 1692.
World Coin
Broad
A gold twenty-shilling coin of the Protectorate bearing Oliver Cromwell's Roman-style profile and a crowned quartered shield, dated 1656.
Hammered
Tanzania 100 Shillings
A golden brass Tanzanian coin worth 100 shillings, showing a lively scene of running antelope with the Swahili legend SHILINGI MIA MOJA.
World
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
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)
Shilling of George II
A milled silver shilling of George II, with a left-facing bust reading GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA and a crowned cruciform-shields reverse; this one is a 1736 roses and plumes issue.
Milled
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
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
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
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
Gold Dinar of Jaqmaq
A hand-struck Mamluk gold dinar of Sultan al-Zahir Jaqmaq (r. 1438-1453 CE), covered in Arabic calligraphy with no figural imagery; this example is pierced.
Islamic (Medieval)
Idrisid Gold Dinar
Gold dinar of Morocco's Idrisid dynasty: a purely epigraphic Islamic coin bearing Kufic Arabic religious legends, no images.
Medieval Islamic