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How to Identify Coins From Other Countries

Whether you are an avid coin collector or a foreign coin just happened to end up among your pocket change, you may need to be able to identify a coin from another country. Identifying the coin is key to learning the value of the coin and whether the coin is still in circulation. Some coins that have been dropped from circulation have no value at all, while other rare coins may be worth exponentially more than the original value. Careful examination of the coin's features can help you identify the country of origin.

Instructions

- 1
  Examine the language written on the coin. Coins written in English might come from the United States, England, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.
- 2
  Look for the name of the country on the front and back of the coin. If the country is written in English, the country should be obvious, but you may have to translate foreign languages.
- 3
  Find the minting date on the front or back of the coin. You can rule out countries that were established after the coin's minting date.
- 4
  Look for the amount of the currency on the coin to see if you recognize the words. For example, you may recognize "pfennig" as being from Germany or "diez centimos" from Spain.
- 5
  Type the English words and the mint date into a search engine to find out more about the coin and its value. There are numerous online resources for coin collectors with information about various foreign coins. (See Resources.)
- 6
  Enter the letters written on the coin into a search engine if you have the same letters and symbols on your keyboard. Even if you don't speak a language like German, you can still enter most of the letters to find out what kind of coin you have.
- 7
  Compare the coin with pictures of foreign coins in online catalogs like worldcoingallery.com. You may find the exact coin there or at least find similar symbols to help you decipher the language and determine the country of origin.
- 8
  Look for pictures of historical figures and modern rulers printed on the face of your coin. England, Hungary, Austria, Egypt, France, Iraq, Taiwan and other countries print faces on their coins that may help you to identify the coin.
- 9
  Inspect the coin for symbols that are indicative of another country. For example, you might recognize Japanese characters, a famous building, or the Communist hammer and sickle on coins from the former USSR.
- 10
  Research your coin in a world coin-collecting book, such as "The Standard Catalog of World Coins," after you have gathered as much information about the coin. There are separate books for coins of the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, so you will need to at least know the date in order to find your coin in one of these books.

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