Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1078039 search inquires.

Selected title: Anvil Die (Bottom die)
Explanation: A coin is struck using two dies. One for the obverse (front) of the coin and another for the reverse (back). The anvil die is the one on the bottom, which is usually the reverse. The term comes from when the die was placed on an anvil with the coin blank (planchet) on top. The hammer die (top die) was placed on top of the coin and struck with a hammer.

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 55661  13.46%
Silver Clad 32545  7.87%
Coin Silver 24660  5.96%
Slabbed Coins 23553  5.70%
BN 23128  5.59%
Encapsulated Coin 22116  5.35%
RB 21592  5.22%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18584  4.49%
PF (PF60, PF70) 18501  4.47%
Reeded Edge 17403  4.21%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 17230  4.17%
PR (PR60, PR70) 16448  3.98%
Rarity 16373  3.96%
PQ 16141  3.90%
MS (MS60-MS70) 15866  3.84%
Incuse 15166  3.67%
Coin drop 14974  3.62%
High Relief 14812  3.58%
Reverse Cameo 14504  3.51%
Obverse or Face side 14227  3.44%