Early Modern

One of the most successful coins ever minted. Featured the bust of Empress Maria Theresa. After her ...

First issued by Sher Shah Suri in 1540. The word rupee comes from rupiya meaning shaped coin or stam...

The currency of the Netherlands from the 17th century until 2002. The guilder powered the Dutch Gold...

One of the oldest currency names in the world, dating to the 13th century. The word ruble may come f...

The worlds primary reserve currency. Established by the Coinage Act of 1792. Over 60 percent of glob...

Also called the piastre in European languages. Became the standard silver coin of the Ottoman Empire...

The standard gold coin of Mughal India. First issued by Sher Shah Suri and refined by Akbar. Weighed...

The famous Spanish gold coin, worth 2 escudos or 4 dollars. Minted from gold looted from the America...

The escudo was both a gold and copper coin denomination in Spain and its colonies. The gold escudo w...

The ancestor of the dollar. Large silver coin minted throughout the German speaking world. The Joach...

The standard gold coin of Prussia under Frederick the Great. Worth 5 talers. Featured the bust of th...

Saxony was one of the richest silver mining regions in Europe. The Schreckenberg and Annaberg mints ...

The national currency of Poland since the 16th century. Zloty means golden in Polish. Originally a g...

The gulden or florin was used long before it became the modern guilder. Dutch gulden coins from the ...

The largest coins ever produced, made of copper plates weighing up to 19.7 kg. Sweden had copper min...

Paper money issued by the French Revolutionary government, backed by confiscated church property. In...

Paper money issued by the Continental Congress to fund the American Revolution. Backed only by futur...

An oval gold coin of the Edo period. Featured the value and mint marks stamped on a thin gold plate....

A very large oval gold coin, worth 10 koban. Given as gifts to daimyo and samurai rather than used i...

Peter the Greats gold coin, modeled on the Hungarian ducat and Dutch ducat. Featured the tsars portr...

The basic unit of Russian currency for nearly 500 years. Featured a horseman with a spear, giving th...

The silver rupee of the Mughal Empire, first issued by Sher Shah Suri. Standardized at approximately...

Shell beads used as currency and record keeping by Native American tribes of the Northeast. White be...

The gold louis or louis dor was introduced by Louis XIII. Featured the kings bust on the obverse. Th...

A Portuguese gold coin that circulated widely in Britain and its American colonies. Worth about 27 s...

The columnarios or pillar dollar, featuring two columns representing the Pillars of Hercules wrapped...

Crude hand-hammered coins produced in Spanish colonial mints from the 16th to 18th centuries. The wo...

See Spanish 8 Reales. The pillar dollar was so widely accepted that it circulated in the American co...

The smallest denomination ever minted by the United States. Worth half a cent or 1/200 of a dollar. ...

The large cent was minted from 1793 to 1857. Early types included the Chain, Wreath, and Liberty Cap...

The predecessor to the nickel five cent piece. A small silver coin worth five cents. The Flowing Hai...

The first silver dollar minted by the United States. Featured Liberty with flowing hair on the obver...

Featured Liberty with a draped bust, designed by Gilbert Stuart. The reverse initially showed a smal...

A quarter of an old penny. The farthing was minted from the 13th century until 1956. Featured Britan...

Also called the ha penny. Worth half a penny. The pre-decimal halfpenny was minted until 1969. Featu...

Also called the tanner. Worth two and a half old pence. Featured the monarch on the obverse and vari...

Worth two shillings and sixpence, or one eighth of a pound. Featured the monarch and the royal arms ...

Worth five shillings or a quarter of a pound. The crown was a large silver coin, originally circulat...

Also called the threepenny bit. Worth three old pence. The silver threepence was minted until 1945. ...

Worth 12 old pence or one twentieth of a pound. The shilling was a staple of British commerce for ce...

The first English coin to feature a realistic portrait of the monarch. Introduced by Henry VII. The ...

A private copper token coinage for the American colonies, produced by William Wood under a patent fr...

The first official one cent coin issued by the United States. Designed by Benjamin Franklin. Feature...

Paper money issued by the individual American colonies. Massachusetts was first in 1690 to pay soldi...

Coins authorized by the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation. The Fugio cent was...

The currency of New France, the French colony in North America. French coins circulated alongside Sp...

The most unusual currency in North American history. When military pay failed to arrive from France,...

The leeuwendaalder, a silver coin featuring a lion. First minted for the Dutch Revolt against Spain....

The main silver coin of the Italian states before unification. Featured the ruling pope or duke. The...

The currency of the Order of Malta, the Knights Hospitaller. Featured the Grand Masters coat of arms...

Also called the Draped Bust dime. Featured Liberty on the obverse and a small eagle or heraldic eagl...

The Draped Bust quarter featured Liberty on the obverse and a small eagle on the reverse. The 1796 q...

The Draped Bust half dollar of 1794 and 1795 is extremely rare. The 1804 half dollar is one of the m...

See Cobs entry. Cob dollars were produced at mints in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Each was ...

The coins of the Knights Hospitaller on Malta. Featured the cross of the Order and the Grand Masters...

The copper coin of the Mughal Empire, the everyday currency for common people. The dam was worth app...

The coins of the Maratha Confederacy, which challenged Mughal power. Featured the Maratha flag and s...

The copper coin of everyday commerce in the Ottoman Empire. Featured the name of the sultan and the ...

The Russian half ruble silver coin. Featured the monogram of Peter the Great on early issues. The po...

A small Russian coin worth half a kopek. The word denga is the origin of the English word money thro...

The main silver coin of Sweden for centuries. The riksdaler was the Swedish equivalent of the German...

A Polish silver coin worth three groschen. Featured the Polish eagle and the rulers name. The trojak...

The Bohemian silver coin minted at Joachimsthal, giving the taler its name. The Czech talar featured...

The standard gold coin of the Mughal Empire. Akbar standardized the mohur at approximately 10.9 gram...

Coins of the Sur Empire founded by Sher Shah Suri, who expelled Humayun from India. Sher Shah introd...

The silver rupee of the Maratha Empire. Minted at Pune, Satara, and Tanjore. The Maratha rupee maint...

Coins minted by the British East India Company in India. The EIC received minting rights from the Mu...

Coins of Portuguese India, covering Goa, Daman, and Diu. Portuguese coins were minted in Goa from th...

A small silver coin of the Kandyan Kingdom of Sri Lanka. The fanam was worth 1/12 of a rupee. Featur...

The currency of the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. First issued by the VOC. The gulden was modele...

One of the least valued currencies in the world per unit. The rial has been the official currency si...

A debased silver or copper coin used for small transactions in Spain and its colonies. The vellon sy...

A half real copper coin used in Spain and its colonies. The medio was the smallest silver denominati...

See Spanish Piece of Eight. The real de a ocho was the formal name for the eight real coin. The term...

See Spanish Escudo entry. The 8 escudos gold coin was equivalent to the doubloon and was the largest...

A Spanish colonial two real coin worth about 20 cents in US terms. The pistareen was common in circu...

The silver coin of Tibet before Chinese incorporation. Featured Buddhist symbols including the eight...

The silver coins of the Knights of Malta featured the distinctive eight pointed cross of the Order. ...

The French version of the Italian testone, a heavy silver coin featuring a portrait. Introduced unde...

Coins minted during sieges when normal coin supplies ran out. siege money was made from silver plate...

The half dime series includes the Flowing Hair, Draped Bust, Capped Bust, and Seated Liberty types. ...

The early US copper coinage includes the Chain cent, Wreath cent, Liberty Cap cent, and half cent of...

Colonial American coins include the Massachusetts Pine Tree and Oak Tree shillings minted in Boston ...

Minted secretly in Boston by John Hull under authorization of the Massachusetts General Court. Featu...

A state copper coinage authorized by the Connecticut legislature. Featured a seated Liberty on the o...

See Fugio Cent entry. Designed by Benjamin Franklin. The reverse showed 13 linked rings, a design la...

The five dollar gold half eagle was authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The Turban Head half eagl...

The two and a half dollar gold coin. The 1796 quarter eagle had no stars on the obverse. The 1808 qu...

Special silver coins given by the British monarch to deserving elderly people on Maundy Thursday bef...

The Isle of Man has issued its own coins since 1709. The Manx pound is pegged at par with the Britis...