Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1155358 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) 56389  13.13%
Silver Clad 33248  7.74%
Coin Silver 25338  5.90%
Slabbed Coins 24257  5.65%
BN 23787  5.54%
Encapsulated Coin 22730  5.29%
RB 22250  5.18%
PF (PF60, PF70) 19248  4.48%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 19125  4.45%
Reeded Edge 18060  4.21%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 17842  4.15%
PR (PR60, PR70) 17277  4.02%
Obverse or Face side 17257  4.02%
Rarity 17178  4.00%
PQ 16780  3.91%
MS (MS60-MS70) 16431  3.83%
Incuse 15819  3.68%
Coin drop 15712  3.66%
High Relief 15433  3.59%
Reverse Cameo 15206  3.54%