Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1124185 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) 56069  13.24%
Silver Clad 32962  7.78%
Coin Silver 25035  5.91%
Slabbed Coins 23961  5.66%
BN 23517  5.55%
Encapsulated Coin 22463  5.30%
RB 21968  5.19%
PF (PF60, PF70) 18940  4.47%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18901  4.46%
Reeded Edge 17779  4.20%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 17588  4.15%
Obverse or Face side 17010  4.02%
PR (PR60, PR70) 16943  4.00%
Rarity 16826  3.97%
PQ 16508  3.90%
MS (MS60-MS70) 16190  3.82%
Incuse 15534  3.67%
Coin drop 15381  3.63%
High Relief 15154  3.58%
Reverse Cameo 14899  3.52%