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UK Coin Identifier

Found a coin and not sure what it is? Answer four short questions, measure a worn coin, or type what you know, and we'll match it to our catalogue of 7,000+ United Kingdom coins, with realised auction values on every match.

  1. Step 1Portrait
  2. Step 2Denomination
  3. Step 3Year
  4. Step 4Finish
  5. Step 5Match
← Back to step 2
Identifying: Hammered and earlier ½ Groat · Start over

Step 3, What year was it minted?

The year sits beneath the portrait on the obverse. If the date is worn, pick the closest decade, or switch to the measure path and identify it from diameter and weight instead.

1351 1352 1354 1355 1357 7 variants 1358 7 variants 1359 7 variants 1360 7 variants 1361 8 variants 1362 8 variants 1363 8 variants 1364 8 variants 1365 8 variants 1366 8 variants 1367 11 variants 1368 4 variants 1369 5 variants 1370 4 variants 1371 7 variants 1372 4 variants 1373 4 variants 1374 4 variants 1375 4 variants 1376 4 variants 1377 5 variants 1378 4 variants 1379 4 variants 1380 4 variants 1381 4 variants 1382 4 variants 1383 4 variants 1384 4 variants 1385 4 variants 1386 4 variants 1387 4 variants 1388 4 variants 1389 4 variants 1390 6 variants 1391 3 variants 1392 3 variants 1393 3 variants 1394 3 variants 1395 3 variants 1396 3 variants 1397 3 variants 1398 3 variants 1399 4 variants 1400 3 variants 1401 3 variants 1402 3 variants 1403 3 variants 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1411 1412 2 variants 1413 2 variants 1414 1415 1416 1417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 4 variants 1423 3 variants 1424 3 variants 1425 3 variants 1426 3 variants 1427 3 variants 1428 2 variants 1429 2 variants 1430 3 variants 1431 2 variants 1432 1433 1467 2 variants 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 2 variants 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 2 variants 1481 2 variants 1482 2 variants 1483 2 variants 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1493 1494 1495 1496 2 variants 1497 2 variants 1498 2 variants 1499 2 variants 1500 1501 1502 3 variants 1503 3 variants 1504 3 variants 1505 2 variants 1506 2 variants 1507 2 variants 1508 3 variants 1509 4 variants 1510 2 variants 1511 2 variants 1512 2 variants 1513 2 variants 1514 2 variants 1515 2 variants 1516 2 variants 1517 2 variants 1518 2 variants 1519 2 variants 1520 2 variants 1521 2 variants 1522 2 variants 1523 2 variants 1524 2 variants 1525 2 variants 1526 3 variants 1527 1528 1529 1530 2 variants 1531 2 variants 1532 1533 1544 1545 1546 1547 3 variants 1548 2 variants 1549 2 variants 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1560 1561 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590 1591 1592 1593 1594 1595 1596 1597 1598 1599 1600 1601 1602 1603 1604 2 variants 1605 1606 1607 2 variants 1608 2 variants 1609 2 variants 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1619 2 variants 1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1631 1632 2 variants 1633 1634 2 variants 1635 2 variants 1636 2 variants 1637 2 variants 1638 2 variants 1639 2 variants 1640 2 variants 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660

How the identifier works

The question path narrows the catalogue one attribute at a time: portrait (which fixes the monarch and reign), denomination, year, and finish. The measure path ranks every catalogued coin by how close its official diameter and weight sit to your measurements, with shape and colour to separate look-alikes, which works even when the coin is worn smooth. The text path reads a year, a denomination, a design or a nickname the way site search does. Every path shows circulation strikes first and folds the proofs and finishes of the same coin underneath, each linking to a full coin page with realised auction prices, mintage figures, rarity scores and reference images. Every result is a real coin in the catalogue.

Frequently asked

How accurate is this coin identifier?
It is a structured search of our 7,000+ catalogued British coins. Answer the portrait, denomination and year correctly and the tool narrows to the exact coin or a small handful of variants, with circulation strikes shown first and proofs folded underneath. For ambiguous coins (mules, errors, patterns) the result page links to the relevant guides.
What if I don't know the year?
The year is normally beneath the portrait on the obverse. If it has worn away, use "Measure it": diameter, weight, shape and colour usually narrow a dateless coin to a few candidates, and each card shows the years that coin was struck.
How do I identify a coin that is too worn to read?
Switch to the "Measure it" tab. Measure the diameter in millimetres with a ruler or calipers, weigh it in grams if you have scales, and note the shape and colour. The identifier ranks every catalogued coin by physical closeness, and a coin with no recorded diameter can still match on its weight.
How accurately do I need to measure?
The diameter search allows about a millimetre either way (less on small coins, more on crowns) and weight allows 12%, so a household ruler and kitchen scales are fine. Calipers and 0.01 g scales narrow the results further. Weigh the coin clean and dry; heavy wear can remove a few percent of the original weight.
What if it is not a British coin?
The identifier covers the United Kingdom by default, including pre-1707 England and Scotland. Switch the issuer control to add Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and the sterling territories, or to Ireland. For other countries, Numista is the place to start.
Can I identify a coin from a photo?
Not here. Apps such as CoinSnap and Coinoscope identify coins from a photo; come back with the name and the value is on the coin page. Google image search is unreliable for coins: a worn penny often comes back as a token, a medal or a foreign coin.
Does this work for Roman or ancient coins?
No. This identifier is scoped to British coinage from the hammered era to the present, plus the Crown Dependencies, the territories and Ireland. For Roman, Anglo-Saxon or other ancient coinage, the British Museum and the Portable Antiquities Scheme are the right starting points.
Is this a free service?
Yes, completely free with no account required. If you want to track the coins you find, free MyCoinage accounts let you save up to 25 coins to a personal collection.
What if my coin is fake?
Several common UK coins are widely counterfeited, most notably the Kew Gardens 50p and the £1 coin pre-2017. Once you have a match, our individual coin pages flag the common counterfeit tells and show genuine reference images.

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