Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 terms used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 13861 search inquires.

Random term: Matte Proof

Explanation: A special type of proof finish, used at the Philadelphia Mint prior to World War I. This method was first employed by the Paris Mint and was later adopted for a limited time during the 1908-1916 years for certain (but not all) issues by the Philadelphia Mint. The surface is prepared by a special process which gives it a grainy appearance; A proof coin with a granular (rather than mirrorlike) surface produced by dies treated to obtain a minutely etched surface

Most popular coin terms

Definition	Searches	Percentage
Silver Clad	1010	13.08%
PR (PR60, PR70)	615	7.96%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM)	594	7.69%
BN	473	6.12%
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70)	467	6.05%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM)	464	6.01%
Encapsulated Coin	364	4.71%
Deep Mirror Prooflike (DPML)	352	4.56%
Reeded Edge	343	4.44%
RB	338	4.38%
PF (PF60, PF70)	337	4.36%
MS (MS60-MS70)	332	4.30%
Obverse or Face side	300	3.88%
Reverse Cameo	285	3.69%
Coin Silver	256	3.31%
Buffing (whizzed)	249	3.22%
Brilliant Uncirculated (BU)	245	3.17%
RD	241	3.12%
Clad Coinage	238	3.08%
Hard Times Tokens	220	2.85%