Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1099302 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) 55867  13.31%
Silver Clad 32769  7.81%
Coin Silver 24823  5.91%
Slabbed Coins 23747  5.66%
BN 23330  5.56%
Encapsulated Coin 22266  5.30%
RB 21772  5.19%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18747  4.47%
PF (PF60, PF70) 18741  4.46%
Reeded Edge 17573  4.19%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 17387  4.14%
Obverse or Face side 16849  4.01%
PR (PR60, PR70) 16669  3.97%
Rarity 16605  3.96%
PQ 16319  3.89%
MS (MS60-MS70) 16021  3.82%
Incuse 15340  3.65%
Coin drop 15165  3.61%
High Relief 14975  3.57%
Reverse Cameo 14705  3.50%