Coin portraits
The monarchs, conquerors, and historical figures whose likenesses appeared on currency.
Inside this collection
Alexander the Great
The Macedonian king who popularized idealized royal portraits across the conquered world.
Julius Caesar
The Roman dictator who broke tradition by placing his living face onto republican denarii.
Queen Victoria
The British monarch portrayed over sixty years, from the Young Head to the Old Head.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Coins charting the French leader's transformation from revolutionary consul to crowned emperor.
Emperor Augustus
Carefully crafted coinage portraits designed to project youthful stability across Rome.
Henry VIII
English gold and silver coins that reflected the king's mid-reign debasement of silver.
Queen Elizabeth II
The most widely portrayed monarch in history, appearing on currency across the Commonwealth.
Cleopatra
Ptolemaic coins depicting the famous Egyptian queen with a sharp profile and royal diadem.
Small details deserve
a closer reading.
We tell the stories behind coins with clear explanations, useful sources and a sense of discovery.
Our approach