Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 735080 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) 41935 13.26%
Silver Clad 28437 9.00%
Coin Silver 20518 6.49%
Slabbed Coins 18742 5.93%
BN 18477 5.84%
Encapsulated Coin 17815 5.64%
RB 17162 5.43%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 14025 4.44%
PF (PF60, PF70) 13881 4.39%
Reeded Edge 13408 4.24%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 13106 4.15%
PQ 12062 3.82%
MS (MS60-MS70) 11884 3.76%
PR (PR60, PR70) 11746 3.72%
High Relief 11015 3.48%
Incuse 10994 3.48%
Rarity 10833 3.43%
Coin drop 10369 3.28%
Obverse or Face side 10256 3.24%
Reverse Cameo 9433 2.98%