Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1037858 search inquires.

Selected title: Lettered Edge
Explanation: The narrow edge of a coin bearing an inscription, found on some foreign and older United States coins. Having something inscribed or a design on the edge of a coin was prevalant when coins were made of precious metal. Supposedly it made it easier to detect when a coin that had some of its precious metal shaved off the edge. Most coins today have a plain edge or 'reeded' edge

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 55279 13.59%
Silver Clad 32216 7.92%
Coin Silver 24309 5.98%
Slabbed Coins 23231 5.71%
BN 22799 5.61%
Encapsulated Coin 21823 5.37%
RB 21268 5.23%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18275 4.49%
PF (PF60, PF70) 18001 4.43%
Reeded Edge 17057 4.19%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 16918 4.16%
PR (PR60, PR70) 15990 3.93%
Rarity 15971 3.93%
PQ 15814 3.89%
MS (MS60-MS70) 15566 3.83%
Incuse 14878 3.66%
Coin drop 14608 3.59%
High Relief 14494 3.56%
Reverse Cameo 14179 3.49%
Obverse or Face side 13919 3.42%