Identifying Foreign Coins

• 1
  Uruguayan peso
  
  Examine the coin. Write down the following information, if you can: date, value, type of metal, color, design, language and country.
  If you cannot determine the country, try to determine the language. If it's inscribed in English, the issuing country is most likely the United States, Australia, India, New Zealand or Canada. Latin is used on coins from most of the countries in Europe and also in Mexico and Peru. French is used on coins issued in Belgium, while Spanish is used in most South American countries, except Brazil which uses Portuguese.
  
  
• 2
  Chinese gold panda coin
  
  If you're not sure of the language of the issuing country, you will have to compare your coin to pictures of foreign currency. Online catalogs are extremely helpful in this regard (see Resources for links). The writing system in countries that do not use a western lettering system can seem indecipherable, but once you begin comparing the characters, you will be able to narrow the field rather quickly.
  
  
• 3
  British coin
  
  If your coin has someone's head on it, odds are good that person is the current ruler of the country. If not the leader, then the picture is generally commemorative and the person is well known. Either way, it gives a clue as to the country's origin. In some countries, such as the United States, coins only carry the portrait of non-living leaders as an anti-monarchy sentiment.
  
  
• 4
  Icelandic coin
  
  Observe the overall design of the coin. Many countries have national symbols they routinely use on their currency, such as the design of the national flag or the local flora and fauna. For example, many of the coins from Iceland feature fish and other creatures from the sea.
  
  
• 5
  Australian 2005 gold rooster coin
  
  When you have all the information you can gather, sit down with a coin catalog. If you don't have one of your own, check one out from the local library. Ask for the 2000 edition of "World Coins" by Chester Krause. If that's unavailable, use an online version (see Resources for link). When you think you've got it, take your coin to the local coin dealer and ask them, very politely, if they agree with your assessment. They will let you know if you're right or wrong and can often give you an estimate of the coin's value