Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1028742 search inquires.

Selected title: Touch piece
Explanation: A coin pierced for suspension around the neck as an amulet, often presented by a monarch to the recipient. This arose from the belief that monarchs could cure certain diseases including scrofula. The coin would normally bear the portrait of the monarch so that the piece could take the place of the monarch. It is likely that a touch piece would have become a status symbol as it showed that the wearer had received the monarch's touch. It is also likely that the wearing of mounted coins was copied as a fashion item

Most popular coin titles

DefinitionSearchesPercentage
Specimen Proof (SP-70 or PF-70) 55186 13.62%
Silver Clad 32143 7.93%
Coin Silver 24225 5.98%
Slabbed Coins 23159 5.72%
BN 22735 5.61%
Encapsulated Coin 21757 5.37%
RB 21189 5.23%
Deep Cameo (DC or DCAM) 18206 4.49%
PF (PF60, PF70) 17935 4.43%
Reeded Edge 16986 4.19%
Ultra Cameo (UCAM) 16862 4.16%
PR (PR60, PR70) 15915 3.93%
Rarity 15862 3.92%
PQ 15751 3.89%
MS (MS60-MS70) 15504 3.83%
Incuse 14810 3.66%
Coin drop 14531 3.59%
High Relief 14428 3.56%
Reverse Cameo 14109 3.48%
Obverse or Face side 13833 3.41%