Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 terms used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 550825 search inquires.

Selected term: 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 terms

Definition	Searches	Percentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70)	34038	13.82%
Silver Clad	25171	10.22%
BN	15627	6.35%
Encapsulated Coin	15038	6.11%
RB	13870	5.63%
Slabbed Coins	13660	5.55%
Coin Silver	11610	4.72%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM)	11439	4.65%
Reeded Edge	10782	4.38%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM)	10554	4.29%
PF (PF60, PF70)	10529	4.28%
MS (MS60-MS70)	9294	3.77%
PQ	9271	3.77%
PR (PR60, PR70)	8833	3.59%
High Relief	8700	3.53%
Obverse or Face side	8158	3.31%
Incuse	7887	3.20%
Rarity	7561	3.07%
Reverse Cameo	7083	2.88%
Brilliant Uncirculated (BU)	7026	2.85%