Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 734755 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) 41916 13.27%
Silver Clad 28429 9.00%
Coin Silver 20509 6.49%
Slabbed Coins 18731 5.93%
BN 18467 5.84%
Encapsulated Coin 17808 5.64%
RB 17151 5.43%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 14014 4.44%
PF (PF60, PF70) 13872 4.39%
Reeded Edge 13397 4.24%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 13099 4.15%
PQ 12054 3.81%
MS (MS60-MS70) 11879 3.76%
PR (PR60, PR70) 11738 3.71%
High Relief 11009 3.48%
Incuse 10987 3.48%
Rarity 10826 3.43%
Coin drop 10360 3.28%
Obverse or Face side 10249 3.24%
Reverse Cameo 9427 2.98%