How to Identify Coins of the World

Identifying coins of the world can be both fun and challenging. Think of it as cracking the mystery posed by a perplexing foreign object. By learning what all coins have in common, you can look for clues to identify their country of origin.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Magnifying glass

1. Realize that all coins of the world contain common data. Every coin will list the country of origin, the denomination, and the date it was minted. The problem is that this information is usually listed in a foreign language and often in a different numbering system.

2. Look for the name of the country of origin. It may be on either side of the coin or sometimes on its edge. The country name will always be in the native language. If it is in a foreign language that uses the same alphabet as English, perform an Internet search with that name. If it is in another writing form, consult the foreign coin chart listed in the Resources section below.

3. Check the coin's denomination. Every country has a different name for its currency and different names for fractions of that currency. For example, the United States has dollars and cents while Japan has yen and sen. Many of the fractional denominations are defunct. If you have an older foreign coin, understand that it may no longer be used by the country of origin. If you need help identifying the denomination, click on the world coin gallery link listed in the Resources section.

4. Find the date the coin was minted. Most of the world uses the Western dating system, so locating the year of the coin is usually simple. However, some countries may use a different dating and/or numbering systems. For example, Israeli coins are based on the Hebrew calendar and engraved with Hebrew numbers. The world coin gallery link in the Resources section can help you identify the coin's date.

5. Understand that coins last a long time. Coins from the time of Jesus and the Romans are fairly common even today. An older coin might be from a country that no longer exists or a currency that is retired. When the European Union fully adopted the Euro in 2002, the old currencies of 16 member nations became worthless except as collector items.

References

• Foreign coin chart
• World coin gallery

Resources

• Crowded Passport .com