Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 857947 search inquires.

Selected title: 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 titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 52644 14.55%
Silver Clad 30151 8.33%
Coin Silver 22160 6.12%
Slabbed Coins 21032 5.81%
BN 20393 5.64%
Encapsulated Coin 19883 5.49%
RB 18808 5.20%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 16182 4.47%
PF (PF60, PF70) 15687 4.33%
Reeded Edge 14958 4.13%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 14903 4.12%
PQ 13731 3.79%
MS (MS60-MS70) 13595 3.76%
PR (PR60, PR70) 13559 3.75%
Rarity 13192 3.65%
Incuse 12601 3.48%
High Relief 12489 3.45%
Coin drop 12314 3.40%
Reverse Cameo 11846 3.27%
Obverse or Face side 11746 3.25%