Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1061871 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) 55507  13.52%
Silver Clad 32408  7.90%
Coin Silver 24524  5.98%
Slabbed Coins 23404  5.70%
BN 22995  5.60%
Encapsulated Coin 21988  5.36%
RB 21447  5.23%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18463  4.50%
PF (PF60, PF70) 18182  4.43%
Reeded Edge 17266  4.21%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 17091  4.16%
Rarity 16210  3.95%
PR (PR60, PR70) 16191  3.94%
PQ 15997  3.90%
MS (MS60-MS70) 15738  3.83%
Incuse 15037  3.66%
Coin drop 14829  3.61%
High Relief 14676  3.58%
Reverse Cameo 14356  3.50%
Obverse or Face side 14106  3.44%