Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1095026 search inquires.

Random title: Rarity Scale
Explanation: A convention for designating the rarity of a coin, such as Sheldon's system (with values such as R1 for common pieces and R6 for extremely rare specimens) and the Universal Rarity Scale invented by Alan Herbert (with designations such as URS3). The often used Sheldon scale is:
  • R8 = 1-3 known (estimated), 'Unique or Nearly Unique'
  • R7 = 4-12 known, 'Extremely Rare'
  • R6 = 13-30 known, 'Very Rare'
  • R5 = 31-75 known, 'Rare'
  • R4 = 76-200 known, 'Very Scarce'
  • R3 = 201-500 known, 'Scarce'
  • R2 = 501-1250 known, 'Uncommon'
  • R1 = over 1251 known, 'Common'

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 55832  13.32%
Silver Clad 32739  7.81%
Coin Silver 24799  5.92%
Slabbed Coins 23721  5.66%
BN 23307  5.56%
Encapsulated Coin 22242  5.31%
RB 21743  5.19%
PF (PF60, PF70) 18719  4.47%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18717  4.47%
Reeded Edge 17551  4.19%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 17358  4.14%
Obverse or Face side 16825  4.01%
PR (PR60, PR70) 16631  3.97%
Rarity 16572  3.95%
PQ 16293  3.89%
MS (MS60-MS70) 16004  3.82%
Incuse 15313  3.65%
Coin drop 15134  3.61%
High Relief 14949  3.57%
Reverse Cameo 14676  3.50%