Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 832753 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) 47247  13.49%
Silver Clad 29816  8.51%
Coin Silver 21825  6.23%
Slabbed Coins 20709  5.91%
BN 20094  5.74%
Encapsulated Coin 19561  5.58%
RB 18523  5.29%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 15783  4.51%
PF (PF60, PF70) 15372  4.39%
Reeded Edge 14650  4.18%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 14554  4.16%
PQ 13416  3.83%
MS (MS60-MS70) 13275  3.79%
PR (PR60, PR70) 13233  3.78%
Rarity 12787  3.65%
Incuse 12258  3.50%
High Relief 12214  3.49%
Coin drop 11867  3.39%
Reverse Cameo 11538  3.29%
Obverse or Face side 11460  3.27%