Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 857722 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) 52630 14.55%
Silver Clad 30147 8.33%
Coin Silver 22156 6.12%
Slabbed Coins 21026 5.81%
BN 20390 5.64%
Encapsulated Coin 19880 5.50%
RB 18805 5.20%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 16172 4.47%
PF (PF60, PF70) 15681 4.33%
Reeded Edge 14951 4.13%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 14897 4.12%
PQ 13727 3.79%
MS (MS60-MS70) 13591 3.76%
PR (PR60, PR70) 13554 3.75%
Rarity 13182 3.64%
Incuse 12597 3.48%
High Relief 12484 3.45%
Coin drop 12308 3.40%
Reverse Cameo 11840 3.27%
Obverse or Face side 11741 3.25%