Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 859553 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) 52708 14.53%
Silver Clad 30191 8.32%
Coin Silver 22195 6.12%
Slabbed Coins 21063 5.81%
BN 20427 5.63%
Encapsulated Coin 19922 5.49%
RB 18847 5.20%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 16225 4.47%
PF (PF60, PF70) 15724 4.34%
Reeded Edge 14991 4.13%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 14947 4.12%
PQ 13765 3.80%
MS (MS60-MS70) 13640 3.76%
PR (PR60, PR70) 13601 3.75%
Rarity 13236 3.65%
Incuse 12639 3.48%
High Relief 12528 3.45%
Coin drop 12359 3.41%
Reverse Cameo 11882 3.28%
Obverse or Face side 11779 3.25%