Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1018608 search inquires.

Selected title: Touch piece
Explanation: A coin pierced for suspension around the neck as an amulet, often presented by a monarch to the recipient. This arose from the belief that monarchs could cure certain diseases including scrofula. The coin would normally bear the portrait of the monarch so that the piece could take the place of the monarch. It is likely that a touch piece would have become a status symbol as it showed that the wearer had received the monarch's touch. It is also likely that the wearing of mounted coins was copied as a fashion item

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 55091 13.65%
Silver Clad 32068 7.95%
Coin Silver 24152 5.98%
Slabbed Coins 23077 5.72%
BN 22648 5.61%
Encapsulated Coin 21685 5.37%
RB 21087 5.22%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18143 4.50%
PF (PF60, PF70) 17863 4.43%
Reeded Edge 16902 4.19%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 16809 4.16%
PR (PR60, PR70) 15851 3.93%
Rarity 15760 3.90%
PQ 15676 3.88%
MS (MS60-MS70) 15435 3.82%
Incuse 14740 3.65%
Coin drop 14456 3.58%
High Relief 14364 3.56%
Reverse Cameo 14030 3.48%
Obverse or Face side 13745 3.41%