Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 932439 search inquires.

Selected title: Slabbed Coins
Explanation: Coins which have been submitted to one of the professional grading services for certification as to the grade of the coin. The coins are examined by the grading services experts, assigned a grade and sealed into a hard plastic 'slab' with a label indicating the coin type, date, mintmark, variety and grade. Often a certified coin is accompanied by a photograph certificate. The holder affords protection from subsequent wear or damage but is not airtight and therefore will not prevent toning. Because any tampering with the holder will be obvious, it also prevents replacing the certified coin with something else. The grades assigned to the coins are accepted as accurate by most collectors and dealers. Because of this, slabbed coins are often traded sight unseen.

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 54214  14.00%
Silver Clad 31335  8.09%
Coin Silver 23409  6.04%
Slabbed Coins 22239  5.74%
BN 21781  5.62%
Encapsulated Coin 21042  5.43%
RB 20129  5.20%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 17435  4.50%
PF (PF60, PF70) 17043  4.40%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 16149  4.17%
Reeded Edge 16141  4.17%
PQ 14904  3.85%
MS (MS60-MS70) 14755  3.81%
PR (PR60, PR70) 14755  3.81%
Rarity 14725  3.80%
Incuse 13885  3.59%
High Relief 13642  3.52%
Coin drop 13634  3.52%
Reverse Cameo 13175  3.40%
Obverse or Face side 12909  3.33%