Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 980261 search inquires.

Selected title: Cleaning
Explanation: Refers to removing dirt or otherwise altering the appearance of a coin through the use of chemical or abrasive materials that damage or scratch the surface in a detectable fashion. Cleaning is different than whizzing or mechanical alteration of the surface. A gentle cleaning in water or solvent that leaves no marks or residue is usually not considered harmful. Cleaning by either mechanical or chemical means that are detectable will generally result in lowering the grade and value of a coin

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 54794  13.78%
Silver Clad 31802  8.00%
Coin Silver 23883  6.01%
Slabbed Coins 22777  5.73%
BN 22326  5.62%
Encapsulated Coin 21453  5.40%
RB 20716  5.21%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 17887  4.50%
PF (PF60, PF70) 17553  4.42%
Reeded Edge 16632  4.18%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 16570  4.17%
PQ 15416  3.88%
Rarity 15374  3.87%
PR (PR60, PR70) 15275  3.84%
MS (MS60-MS70) 15201  3.82%
Incuse 14445  3.63%
Coin drop 14172  3.57%
High Relief 14102  3.55%
Reverse Cameo 13706  3.45%
Obverse or Face side 13412  3.37%