Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1018610 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) 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%