Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 799520 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) 45669 13.47%
Silver Clad 29395 8.67%
Coin Silver 21424 6.32%
Slabbed Coins 20161 5.95%
BN 19614 5.78%
Encapsulated Coin 19027 5.61%
RB 18142 5.35%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 15090 4.45%
PF (PF60, PF70) 14903 4.39%
Reeded Edge 14278 4.21%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 14093 4.16%
PQ 13062 3.85%
MS (MS60-MS70) 12795 3.77%
PR (PR60, PR70) 12744 3.76%
Rarity 12193 3.60%
Incuse 11876 3.50%
High Relief 11838 3.49%
Coin drop 11334 3.34%
Obverse or Face side 11091 3.27%
Reverse Cameo 10385 3.06%