Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Abrasions – Tiny marks on coins due to friction, not wear or cleaning. The number of abrasions determines the mint state grade of an uncirculated coin.
Adjustment Marks – Marks on older gold or silver coins due to filing down an overweight planchet to bring a coin to legal weight.
American Numismatic Association (ANA) – A nonprofit organization dedicated to educating money collectors and promoting the study and collection of money. Founded in 1891 by George Heath, today the ANA has nearly 33,000 members.
American Numismatic Society (ANS) – A New York City based organization devoted to studying coins, currency and related items from all cultures and time periods. The headquarters of the ANS has arguably the foremost research collection and numismatic library in the US.
Bag mark – Marks appearing on coins due to contact with other coins in a bank or mint bag, rather than circulation. Bag marks impact the condition and value of a coin.
Blemish – Minor contact mark on the surface of a coin that impacts eye appeal and coin grade.
Business Strike – Typical coin struck in normal fashion for public use as currency. Also called a circulation strike.
Broken Bank Notes – Obsolete currency issued by private parties, such as banks, prior to 1865. Many of the issuing institutions failed (went “broke), giving rise to the term.
Bullion Coins – Legal tender coins made of a precious metal such as gold or silver. The coins have a denomination, year of issue and country of issue, but generally trade around the spot price of their metal content, rather than their face value. For example, an American Gold Eagle bullion coin has a face value of $50, but contains an ounce of gold, and trades around the spot price of gold, which is much higher.
Circulated – A coin released to the general public that has wear on it from use. A circulated coin can range in grade from almost uncirculated to poor.
Circulation Strike – Typical coin struck in normal fashion for public use as currency. Also called a business strike.
Coining – Producing a coin or medal using top and bottom dies simultaneously.
Commemorative – Coins or medals produced to honor a person or commemorate an event
Condition – The state of a coin, how much wear or damage is present. Often used interchangeably with Grade.
Currency – The unit of exchange for a country issued by the government or central bank, such as the US Dollar, or the physical coins and banknotes of that currency.
Device- Design on a coin other than portraiture, such as architecture, wildlife, etc.
Die – Metal block with the design of a coin cut into it in reverse, which is attached to a press and stamped onto blank planchets to produce coins.
Double Eagle – $20 gold coin (twice a $10 eagle)
Eagle – Base unit of denomination for gold coins, not in use for circulating coins since 1933. An eagle was a $10 gold coin.
Edge- Surface of a coin around the circumference along the thickness of the coin.
Effigy – Image of a person or being generally appearing on the obverse of a coin. Usually refers to a full-length image, but may also refer to a half length image, or even a bust.
Error – A coin on which a mistake of some kind was made.
Exergue – The lower section of a coin or medal, usually separated from the field by a line, and often containing the date, mintmark, or engraver’s initials
Face value – The value printed on a coin (or bill, or stamp) by the issuing authority (for coins, the US Mint.) The face value is the legal monetary value of the coin in the eyes of the government. When considering collectible coins, or coins made of precious metals, the face value is often only symbolic, as many desirable coins sell for much more than face value. For example, a 1909-S VDB penny will buy you only 1 cent of groceries at the store, but can sell for $650-2000 depending on condition!
Field – Portion of the obverse and reverse of a coin which is not covered with the principal design.
Fineness – Ratio of precious metal to the whole weight in a coin. A 1 oz silver coin that is .900 fine contains .9 oz of silver.
Flan – Metal disc imprinted with the coin design. Also known as a planchet.
Flyspecks – Small oxidation spots on the surface of a coin. Very undesirable, avoid coins with flyspecks whenever possible.
Grade – The state of a coin, how much wear or damage is present. Often used interchangeably with condition.
Grading – Process of determining the condition of a coin. Various grading systems have been used over time, with current grades utilizing a letter and number system. These grades are (from worst to best): BS-1 (or PO-1), FR-2, AG-3, G-4, G-6, VG-8, VG-10, F-12, F-15, VF-20, VF-25, VF-30, VF-35, XF-40, XF-45, AU-50, AU-53, AU-55, AU-58, MS-60, MS-61, MS-62, MS-63, MS-64, MS-65, MS-66, MS-67, MS-68, MS-69 and MS-70 for circulation strike coins. A similar system from PR-01 or PF-01 through PR-70 or PF-70 for proof coins is also in use.
Grain – Unit mass of measurement in the troy weight system. Equal to .06479891 grams. Historically, the grain was based on the mass of a single seed of grain, but was redefined in 1958 in terms of grams.
Hairlines – Light lines or scratches on the surface of a coin due to cleaning.
Half Eagle – $5 gold coin (half of a $10 eagle)
Hallmark – Symbol of fineness
Incused design – design recessed into the surface of a coin.
Intrinsic value – The value of the precious metal in a coin.
Jugate – Two portraits conjoined
Legal tender – Coin or bill declared by the government to be acceptable in payment for all debts and cannot be refused as payment for debts already incurred.
Medal – Coin-like metal object die-struck with an insignia, portrait, or other rendering produced by the Mint to honor or commemorate a person or event. A medal is different from a coin in that it has no denomination or face value, and is not legal tender.
Melt Value – The market value of the metal constituents of a coin. For example, the melt value of a modern quarter is the value of the copper and nickel that were used to make the coin. Also known as intrinsic value.
Metal composition – How a struck coin appears, such as plated (US cent), clad (US Quarter), solid metal (gold or silver), etc.
Mintmark – Letter or symbol on US coins showing where the coin was minted.
Mint Set – Set of circulation strike coins sold by the mint for more than face value directly to collectors without entering circulation.
Mintage – The total number of a given coin with a particular date produced in a certain year. This is often broken down by mint branch (Philadelphia, Denver, etc). Separate figures may be given for proof coins (sold to collectors) and circulation coins (released for public use). Particularly for older coins, the mintage number and number still in existence can be very different.
Negative Image – When producing a coin, the negative image is what is carved on the die. Surfaces that will be raised on the coin are recessed on the negative image, and surfaces that are recessed on the coin are raised on the negative image.
Noncirculating Legal Tender (NCLT) – Coins, typically commemorative coins, produced for collectors that are not intended ever to circulate. They are often made of precious metals, with an intrinsic value much higher than the face value on the coins.
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) – NGC is a coin grading service. For a fee, NGC will have three experts examine your coin and determine the correct grade, as well as guaranteeing that the coin is authentic. To prevent conflict of interest, NGC graders are not allowed to buy or sell coins.
Numismatist – Person who is a collector and student of money. Technically includes both coins and bills, but in general usage usually refers to coins.
Obverse – Side of a coin with the principal design. The “heads” side
Odd & Curious money – Non-coin, non-bill items that have been used for money in different cultures, such as cowry shells, feathers of certain birds, bracelets, and other items. Also known as primitive money.
Pieforts – Double-thickness coins made for collectors
Pennyweight – Unit of mass equaling 24 grains, or 1/240th of a troy pound, approximately 1.555 grams. Historically, a British penny contained 1/240th of a troy pound of silver.
Planchet – Metal disc imprinted with the coin design. Also called a flan.
Portrait – Image of a person in which face is predominant, typically on obverse of coin. For example, a portrait of George Washington appears on the quarter.
Positive Image – The image on the face of a coin produced by die-casting or stamping.
Primitive Money – Non-coin, non-bill items that have been used for money in different cultures, such as cowry shells, feathers of certain birds, bracelets, and other items. Used interchangeably with the term “Odd & Curious”.
Privy Mark – indication of who was mintmaster in charge when a coin was produced.
Proof Set – Set of proof strike coins produced by the mint and sold directly to collectors.
Proof Strike – Coin produced using special, high-quality minting process. Such coins are frequently double struck to produce particularly sharp images. Historically, proof coins were produced in small numbers using polished dies to check the die image and for archiving. Such coins were distinct from normal circulation coins by their sharper devices, smoother fields, and raised rims Modern proof coins often have a frosted appearance on the device and a mirror finish on the field, due to chemical treatment of the dies, though the opposite can also be true (reverse proof).
Provenance – Origin & history of a coin, particularly factors that may influence value. This may include where the coin was discovered or if the coin was part of a notable collection, as well as previous sale prices of the coin and similar examples.
Quarter Eagle – $2.50 gold coin (a quarter of a $10 eagle)
Reeded – Series of grooved lines that encircle the perimeter of U.S. coins such as the quarter and dime.
Relief – Relief refers to the raised design on a coin. A “high-relief” design has been struck multiple times to fully push the metal into the deepest parts of the die.
Retooling – Careful reworking of worn details on a coin to artificially improve a coin’s grade.
Reverse – “back” or “tails” side of a coin. The side of the coin with the smaller , non-primary image or device.
Reverse Proof – Proof coin where the field is frosted and the design is mirrored, reversing the normal design of a proof coin.
Secondary Device – Design other than the primary design
Seigniorage – Net revenue derived from issuing currency. Arises from the difference between the face value of a coin and the cost of producing, distributing and removing the coin from circulation.
Statutory Inscription – Motto or other verbiage appearing on a coin due to legal requirements.
Strike Quality – Quality of the design transfer from the die to the coin blank. A high quality strike shows strong fine detail. A low quality strike can result in less collector desirability and lower value regardless of whether the coin has been circulated.
Token – Substitutes for currency issued by companies, rather than governments. Subway tokens are one example.
Troy Ounce – Unit in troy weight system. One troy ounce is 20 pennyweights or 480 grains. One troy ounce is 31.1034768 grams.
Troy Weight – System of units of mass used to measure precious metals. The troy weight of a coin is the weight of gold or silver in the coin, found by multiplying gross weight by fineness.
Uncirculated – Never used as money by the public. A coin that is produced and immediately sold to a collector or a coin taken from a newly produced bag or roll of coins is uncirculated.
Weight – Gross weight of a coin, usually in grains or grams.
Whizzing – The artificial enhancement of a coin to try to improve its value. Can be detected under magnification, where surfaces may appear disturbed, natural flow lines missing or disrupted, and surface color may be abnormal for the grade. Avoid at all costs.
Worth – Amount a coin would sell for in an open market transaction. For many coins, this is face value. For others, particularly bullion coins, this is influenced more by melt value. For collectible coins, worth is determined by supply and demand, with rare and desirable coins commanding prices far beyond either face or melt value to collectors.
