Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 859028 search inquires.

Selected title: Cleaning
Explanation: Refers to removing dirt or otherwise altering the appearance of a coin through the use of chemical or abrasive materials that damage or scratch the surface in a detectable fashion. Cleaning is different than whizzing or mechanical alteration of the surface. A gentle cleaning in water or solvent that leaves no marks or residue is usually not considered harmful. Cleaning by either mechanical or chemical means that are detectable will generally result in lowering the grade and value of a coin

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 52687 14.54%
Silver Clad 30177 8.33%
Coin Silver 22182 6.12%
Slabbed Coins 21054 5.81%
BN 20413 5.63%
Encapsulated Coin 19907 5.49%
RB 18831 5.20%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 16208 4.47%
PF (PF60, PF70) 15708 4.33%
Reeded Edge 14979 4.13%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 14927 4.12%
PQ 13750 3.79%
MS (MS60-MS70) 13624 3.76%
PR (PR60, PR70) 13585 3.75%
Rarity 13217 3.65%
Incuse 12624 3.48%
High Relief 12511 3.45%
Coin drop 12342 3.41%
Reverse Cameo 11867 3.27%
Obverse or Face side 11768 3.25%