Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 650486 search inquires.

Selected title: Matte Proof
Explanation: A special type of proof finish, used at the Philadelphia Mint prior to World War I. This method was first employed by the Paris Mint and was later adopted for a limited time during the 1908-1916 years for certain (but not all) issues by the Philadelphia Mint. The surface is prepared by a special process which gives it a grainy appearance; A proof coin with a granular (rather than mirrorlike) surface produced by dies treated to obtain a minutely etched surface

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 37778 13.27%
Silver Clad 27026 9.49%
Coin Silver 19171 6.74%
BN 17017 5.98%
Encapsulated Coin 16439 5.78%
Slabbed Coins 16078 5.65%
RB 15594 5.48%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 12751 4.48%
PF (PF60, PF70) 12388 4.35%
Reeded Edge 12162 4.27%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 11879 4.17%
PQ 10635 3.74%
MS (MS60-MS70) 10573 3.71%
PR (PR60, PR70) 10441 3.67%
High Relief 9819 3.45%
Incuse 9753 3.43%
Coin drop 9077 3.19%
Obverse or Face side 9050 3.18%
Rarity 8848 3.11%
Reverse Cameo 8126 2.85%