Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1015158 search inquires.

Selected title: Burnishing
Explanation: A process by which the surfaces of a planchet or a coin are made to shine through rubbing or polishing. This term is used in two contexts – one positive, one negative. In a positive sense, Proof planchets are burnished before they are struck – a procedure done originally by rubbing wet sand across the surfaces to impart a mirror like finish. In a negative sense, the surfaces on repaired and altered coins sometimes are burnished by various methods. In some instances, a high-speed drill with some type of wire brush attachment is used to achieve this effect

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 55068 13.66%
Silver Clad 32049 7.95%
Coin Silver 24134 5.99%
Slabbed Coins 23046 5.72%
BN 22620 5.61%
Encapsulated Coin 21671 5.38%
RB 21046 5.22%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18123 4.50%
PF (PF60, PF70) 17844 4.43%
Reeded Edge 16882 4.19%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 16790 4.17%
PR (PR60, PR70) 15836 3.93%
Rarity 15706 3.90%
PQ 15656 3.88%
MS (MS60-MS70) 15415 3.82%
Incuse 14715 3.65%
Coin drop 14436 3.58%
High Relief 14348 3.56%
Reverse Cameo 14004 3.47%
Obverse or Face side 13725 3.40%