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About Uncirculated (AU)
A grading term used to describe a coin that is nearly in uncirculated condition or "Almost Uncirculated."

Ag
Elemental abbreviation for SILVER

Alloy
A mixture of two or more metals melted into one compound used for minting.

American Eagle
Coins released by the U.S. government starting in Oct. 1986. Minted in Silver or Gold depicting Lady Liberty on obverse. Reverse of Silver bears heraldic Eagle and shield. Reverse of Gold depicts family of Eagles.

Annealing
The process of heating coin blanks (planchlets) in a furnace to soften the metal prior to striking coins out of them.

Assay
To determine the purity of the metal by scientific means.

Au
Elemental abbreviation for GOLD

Blank
The formed piece of metal on which a coin design will be stamped.

Brilliant Uncirculated or BU
Term used to describe a coin intended for circulation without wear and in original state as produced by the issuing Mint.

Bullion Coin
A legal tender coin that trades at a slight premium to its precious metal value. Can be Silver, Gold or Platinum.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing
United States government agency that produces paper money for the U.S. and some other countries.

Bust
Portrait on a coin, usually the head or head and shoulders.

Carson City Mint
Located in Nevada, this Mint produced gold and silver coins from 1870-1893. It was closed from 1885-1889, due to a lack of funding. In 1893, the Mint was permanently closed. Coins minted in Carson City are among the most popular branch-Mint issues. Carson City coins bear a “CC” mintmark.

Cartwheel
The pleasing effect seen on some coins when they are rotated ina good light source. The luster rotates around like the spokes of a wagon wheel. A term applied mainly to frosty Mint State coins, especially silver dollars, to describe their luster. Also a slang term for a silver dollar.

Cast Coins
Coins that are made by pouring molten metal into a mold, rather than the usual manner of striking blanks with dies.

Certificate of Authenticity
A Certificate of Authenticity provides a guarantee of genuineness. This ensures that what you bought is not counterfeit. Reputable companies offer a Certificate of Authenticity for their products.

Certified Coin
A coin that has been graded, authenticated and encapsulated in plastic by an independent (neither buyer nor seller) grading service.

Chop Marks

Oriental marks or characters stamped into previously made coins. Often found on silver trade dollars and other precious metal coins. When coins were used for trading purposes a oriental assayer would test a piece of the coin for purity. If it met his approval he would stamp his mark into the coin indicating to others it was pure and accurate weight. Today some collectors specialize in "Chop marked" coins. However, for many coins the chop marks may hurt the value.

Circulated
A term applied to a coin that has been used in circulation and has wear, ranging from slight rubbing to heavy wear.

Clad
Coins made of layers of metal. Examples include modern U.S. dimes, quarters, half-dollars and dollars that have centers of copper and outer layers of a copper-nickel alloy.

COA
Certificate of authenticity.  A paper certificate usually from the issuing mint that declares the coin or item is genuine.

Coin
Object usually made of flat metal, small and round. Issued by a government as legal tender. Most commonly bearing a denomination value.

Coin Silver
In the USA coin silver often means the purity of silver used in circulating coins dated before 1965.  Back then dimes, quarters, half dollars, and silver dollars were 90% solid silver, made of  90% silver and 10% copper.  Other countries may use the words "coin silver" to mean the purity used in their silver coins, which may be different from US coins.

Coin World
One of the most popular coin collecting weekly paper/magazine for collectors of US coins.

Collar
When a coin is struck the collar on the printing press surrounds the rim of the coin preventing the metal from flowing outside of the collar.

Colonials
Coins produced by the colony states prior to the time the United States government was formed. Most were made of copper and in small denominations.

Commemorative
A special coin, medal or other items issued to honor an person, place, or event. Often one time or short lived production. Many times commemorative coins are not produced for general circulation and have limited mintage.

Condition
The physical state of a coin. Usually indicating the amount of wear. Graded coins are ranked by a scale of condition from 1 to 70 (perfection).

Contact Mark
A mark or marks on a coin that happened from coming in contact with another coin or object. Usually contact marks are small. Often this term is used to indicate marks on a coin that are not as obvious as bag marks. However, sometimes it is used to mean the same thing.

Copper Nickel
A metal alloy of 88% copper and 12% nickel. This alloy was used for US Flying Eagle and Indian cents from 1856 to the middle of 1864. The alloy caused these small cents to have a pale copper color. Back then people called these cents "white cents" because of their pale color. "Cupro-nickel" is a similar term.

Coppers
Nick name for older copper coins, particularly the large cents, and half cents.

Copy
Refers to a reproduction of a coin or paper note. Some copies may be illegal. U.S. Mint regulations require reproductions of U.S. coins and paper money to be much larger or smaller than the original. U.S.government under the "hobby protection act" requires that the item contains the word "copy" or "reproduction" in a readable visible place.

Corrosion

Chemical reaction on the surface of a coin. Corrosion can result from a coin coming in contact with other things (chemicals) including chemicals in the air. This can come about because of things coming in contact with the coin years earlier. Corrosion damages a coins surface and is usually worse in copper, nickel, zinc, and silver coins. Some experts think that toning on the surface of a coin may help slow down this harmful process.

Counterfeit
A coin or piece of currency that is fake or reproduced in order to make people think it is genuine.

Cupro-Nickel
A mixture of copper, nickel, and possibly other metals. Today this term is most often used to refer to the current coins made by fusing layers of copper and nickel or combination alloy mixtures, resulting in a "sandwich" type of coin. The current US dimes and Quarters are examples. Technically the copper nickel cents, three cent nickels, and regular nickels are cupro-nickel.

Currency
Any kind of coins or paper money that is used as a medium of exchange.

D Mint Mark
Mintmark used to designate that the coin was struck at the US mint in "Denver Colorado". Back between 1838 and the civil war the "D" mint mark was used by the US mint in Dahlonega Georgia.

D-Mint
Term used for the gold coinage struck at the branch Mint in Dahlonega, Georgia from 1838 to 1861 and for the coinage struck at the branch Mint in Denver, Colorado from 1906 to the present.

Denomination
Different values of money. For example US coins currently have 6 different denominations: cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar.

Denticles
Small tooth like raised areas around the edge of a coin. Particularly on older coins. Often found all around the front (obverse) and back (reverse) of the coin, right next to the edge.

Die
A piece of metal engraved with a design and used for stamping coins.

Die Defect
Damage or defect of a coin die. The coins produced by that die will exhibit the same defects.

Double Die
A coin that shows numbers or letters doubled. Caused by the coin die having been made with a doubled design on parts of it. Example: 1955 double die Lincoln cent.

Double Eagle
The U.S. $20 gold coin - at this time in U.S. history the $10 gold coin was called an "Eagle."

Eagle
A U.S. $10 gold coin; also refers to U.S. silver, gold and platinum bullion.

Edge
The side of the coin. Currently US dimes and quarters have a "reeded" edge, which is an edge with small lines on it. Some coins will have lettering, ornamental designs, or plain edges.

Edge Lettering
Letters or designs made on the side edge of a coin. Most modern day coins have plain or reeded edges. Example of edge lettering is the old Capped Bust Half dollar coins, the $10 Indian Head and modern-day Presidential Dollars.

Engraver
An artist who creates a coin's design as a model or sculpture. In earlier days the engraver would actually cut out the design onto the coining die.

Error
A coin that has some type of production defect on it. Modern production procedures attempt to keep error coins from being released.

Extra Fine (EF or XF)
A well-preserved coin with a grade range from 40 to 49 on a grading scale of 1 to 70. Also called Extremely Fine.

Fair
A very heavily worn coin. Date may only be partially visible. One of the lowest grades of a coin, F-2.

Field
The background portion of a coin’s surface not used for a design or inscription.

Fineness
The purity of gold, silver or any other precious metal, expressed in terms of 1,000 parts. A coin of 90% pure silver is expressed as .900 Fine.

First Strike
The first coin, or one of the earliest coins, struck from a pair of dies. These are usually Proof like, well struck and nearly perfect.

Frosted Proof
A proof coin that has a mirror like surface in the background with a frosted (raised) surface details on the design. Proof coins are the highest level of the minter's art form and usually command a premiim price in the marketplace.

Grade
A rating or clarification that indicates how much wear a circulated coin has. Grades can also indicate the degree of perfection for uncirculated coins. Two popular grading guides are Photo grade and the ANA Grading Guide. Both use a scale system from 1 to 70 measuring coins from About Good -3 to Mint State Uncirculated- 70, representing perfection.

Grading
The art or skill of close exmaination and determining the numismatic condition of a coin based on a numbered rating scale.

Hairlines
Very light lines or scratches on the surface of a coin. Sometimes caused by light cleaning or polishing.

Half Eagle
The U.S. $5 gold coin minted from 1795 to 1929.

Head
The obverse or front of most coins. Usually with a portrait of someone but not always.

Hoard
A group of coins, sometimes not of any certain type or date. Can also be a limited number of coins from a single source or origin.

Incuse Design
The intaglio design used on Indian Head quarter eagles and half eagles. These coins were struck from dies which had fields recessed so that the devices –the areas usually raised –were recessed on the coins them-selves. This was an experiment to try to deter counterfeiting and improve wearing quality.

Inscription
The words stamped (written) on a coin

Intrinsic Value
The value of the metal(s) contained in a numismatic item. The U.S. issues contained their intrinsic value in metal until 1933 for gold coins and 1964 for silver coins.

Key Date
A scarce date that is often hard to find to complete a collection. Usually more difficult to find, of lower mintage, or more expensive.

Legal Tender
Coins, paper money, or other currency issued by a government and used as money. The legal tender value of a coin is the value placed on it by the government. It may be different than the intrinsic value (bullion value) or collector value.

Legend
The main lettering on a coin. For instance the phrase "United States of America"

Lettered Edge

The edge of a coin that has lettering on the outside of it. Usually it is raised, but sometimes incused. Most coins today have a plain edge or "reeded" edge. Having something inscribed or a design on the edge of a coin was prevalent when coins were made of precious metal. Supposedly it made it easier to detect when a coin that had some of its precious metal shaved off the edge. You'll find most all of the older gold and silver US coins will have either lettered or reeded edges. Bust Today's dime and quarter are examples of a reeded edge.

Luster
The brilliant or “frosty "surface quality of an Uncirculated (Mint State) coin.

Matte Proof
Matte proof coins are special proofs that have a grainy "sandblasted" look on the surface. Matte proof coins were sometimes made in the early part of the 1900's. Normal proof coins have a mirror like brilliant surface.

Mercury Dime
Nick name for the US 10 cent pieces made between 1916 and 1945. Although originally called the Winged Liberty Head dime the name "mercury" dime caught on with the public when it was compared to the Roman god "mercury".

Milled Edge
Coin production process that produces the edge of the coin.

Mint
Place where coins are produced (manufactured). The U.S. Mint produces most coins for the U.S. government in Philadelphia and Denver. Mint facilities in San Francisco and West Point are used to produce some of the Proof and commemorative coins.

Mint Luster
A frosty, satiny, unique shine found on uncirculated coins

Mint Mark
A small letter on a coin that identifies which of the U.S. Mints the coin was produced at.

Mint Set
A set of Uncirculated coins from a particular year comprising coins from each Mint. (Usually, this term refers to government-issued Mint Sets, although for many years, it has been loosely used for any set of Uncirculated coins from a particular year. Also, the government Mint Sets issued from 1947 until 1958 were double sets.)

Mint State
The term corresponding to the numerical grades MS-60 through MS-70, used to denote a business strike coin that has never been in circulation. A Mint State coin can range from one that is covered with marks (MS-60) to a flawless example (MS-70).

Mintage
The number of coins produced (the quantity made for that country, date, mintmark, and type of coin)

Mintmark
A small letter or other mark on a coin, indicating the Mint location or name at which it was struck.

New Orleans Mint
The New Orleans Mint opened its doors in 1838 and minted gold and silver coins until 1861, when the Confederates took over operations for a short time. Minting resumed in 1879 and continued until 1909. The New Orleans facility served as an assay office from 1909-1942, when it was permanently closed. This Mint uses the “O” mintmark.

NGC
Abbreviation for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and independent and one of the premiere coin grading companies.

Nickel
Nick name for the US five cent piece. Although only 25% of the five cent piece is made of the metal nickel it gives the appearance that it is solid nickel. The nick name "nickel" came about due to its appearance of being made of the metal nickel. It is actually made of a mixture of copper(75%) and nickel(25%).

Numismatics
The study of coins and coin collecting.

Numismatist
A coin collector. Often used to indicate someone who is a serious coin hobbiest or one who studies an area of coin collecting.

Obsolete
A coin design or series that is no longer being produced.

Obverse
The front, or “heads, "side of a coin; usually the date side. Original–A coin that has never been cleaned or impaired in any way.

Off Center
Describes the way a coin was struck by the printing dies. If the coin was not placed properly and the dies strike it off center then parts of the design will be missing from the coin. Sometimes an off-center coin will have part of the blank planchlet showing.

Original Roll

A group of coins that were wrapped in paper wrappers at the time of their production. In early days coins were shipped to banks in cloth bags or kegs. Sometimes later they were shipped in rolls. Silver coins stored in rolls will often have toning on and near the edges but not in the center. Some coins stored in rolls will have fewer marks than those stored or transported in bags or kegs. The number of coins in a roll may vary by denomination and time of issuance. Typically there are 50 cents in a roll, 40 nickels, 50 dimes, 40 quarters, 20 halves, 20 silver and Eisenhower dollars, and sometimes 25 SBA or Sacajewea dollars.

Over Strike
A coin that instead of being struck on a blank planchlet was accidentally struck on a previously struck coin.

P-Mint
Term applied to the coins struck at the main Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Pattern
A coin that was struck as an experiment or as a trial piece. Usually, a new design or made of experimental metal alloys. U.S. Pattern coins from recent years are illegal to own because they are still considered government property. However, older patterns were released to dignitaries, etc and are legally available to buy or sell in the numistmatic market place.

PCGS
Abbreviation for Professional Coin Grading Service and independent and one of the premiere coin grading companies.

Philadelphia Mint

The “mother "Mint located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. First established in 1792, the Philadelphia Mint has occupied four different locations; currently, it is located in Independence Square, within sight of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The Philadelphia Mint engraves all U.S. coins and medals, manufactures coin and medal dies, manufactures coins of all denominations for general circulation, manufactures commemorative coins and produces medals. This Mint currently uses the “P”mintmark, but coins produced prior to 1980 have no mintmark.

Planchlet
A blank round piece of metal from which the coin is struck.

Precious Metal
Metals of value. Typically gold, silver, platinum. However, can include palladium and rhodium.

Proof

A coin usually struck from a specially prepared coin die on a specially prepared planchet. Proof coins are the highest level of the minter's art and are usually created from hand fed coining blanks struck multiple times with presses operating at slower speeds and higher striking pressure. Because of this extra care, Proofs usually exhibit much sharper detail than circulating coins and command a premium among collectors.

Proof Set
A coin set containing Proof issues from a particular year. A few sets contain anomalies, such as the 1804 dollar and eagle in 1834 presentation Proof Sets.

Quarter Eagle
The U.S. $2.50 gold coin.

Raw
Means the coin has not been slabbed or certified

Red Book
The Official RED BOOK of US COINS. A price guide book on US coins and their values by R.S. Yeoman. Perhaps the most popular book for listing US coin retail values, grades, and mintages.

Reeded Edge
The edge of a coin that has small reed like lines on it. Today's US dimes and quarters are examples of reeded edge coins.

Relief
The part of the design that is raised from the surface of the coin. Example: Washington's face on a Washington quarter.

Restrike
A coin minted from original dies, however at a later date than originally intended.

Reverse
The back, or “tails, "side of a coin.

Rim
The raised edge of a coin created by the upsetting mill. The idea being that if the edge on both sides of the coin is raised like the design it will help protect the coins design from wear.

Roll
A group of coins in the same denomination in a paper wrapper package by banks, dealers, or the U.S. Mint. Sometimes a roll is put into a plastic coin tube. The number of coins in a roll depend on the denomination.

Rounds
Coin shaped silver pieces. Not official legal tender, however they may be accurate in bullion weight. Like silver bars only shaped like a coin.

S-Mint
Term applied to the coins struck at the San Francisco, California branch Mint.

Saint-Gaudens
Last name of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the preeminent sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the request of President Theodore Roosevelt, he redesigned the eagle and double eagle in 1907, although he died mid-production. Also slang for the Liberty Head double eagle or Saint.

Series
Collection of coins of one denomination that contains all the dates and mint marks of that design. For example a Lincoln Cent Wheat back series would contain one of each date cent minted from 1909 to 1958, including each mintmark as well.

Sheldon Scale
The grading scale developed by Dr. William Sheldon that ranks coins on a scale of 1 to 70, with 70 representing perfection.

Silver Clad
Term referring to US Half Dollars made from 1965 to 1970. Made with an outer layer of 80% silver and 20% copper bonded to an inner core of 20.9% silver and .791% copper. Overall 40% silver.

Slab
Numismatic slang for the plastic holder in which a coin is encapsulatedby a grading service. The coin contained therein is said to be slabbed.

Spotting or Spot

A mark or marks on a coin of a different color. Often looking like spots of something on the coin. Usually, it is a form of tarnish or staining. Spotting may have a negative effect on the value of a coin depending on how severe it is, etc. Most professionals will advise you not to try to clean a spot (or spotting) off of a coin, as it may create friction or surface damage that may hurt the coins value even more.

Strike
A process of stamping a design into a coin planchet (blank). Usually metal dies with designs engraved in them are used. If the dies are struck weakly or just average it may effect the coin's value negatively vs. a well struck coin. Some U.S. mints were known for making weakly stuck coins during certain years. certain years

Tail
The reverse or back side of a coin

Token
Something that looks like a coin, but is not legal tender issued by an official government. For example, parking tokens, video game machine tokens, and casino tokens. Some coin collectors shy away from collecting tokens. However, there are a few small groups of serious token collectors.

Toning

Shading of color on coins. Toning can be in many forms from dark or brown to various shade of other colors. It can cover the whole coin or more often part of the coin. Toning results when the surface of the coin comes in contact with the air and environment it is exposed to. Traces of material in the metals will also play a roll in toning. Some think toning makes a "protective" coating over the surface of a coin that helps the coin resist corrosion. Toning can be even be artificially done by exposing the coin to certain reactive substances. Some "naturally" occurring toned coins bring a premium in the collector market due to their unique beauty. Others may bring less than an un-toned coin when the toning is unattractive.

Two Cent Piece
A U.S. coin with the value of two cents. Common term used for the copper Shield design two-cent coin made from 1864 to 1873.

Type

Coins containing the same or a similar characteristic. Often in a type collection or set the dates do not matter. Rather the collector is interested in obtaining one of each representative design. For example a collector may want one of each "type" of coin in US circulation today. Such a type set would consist of a cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half, and dollar. A collector may decide to collect one representative of each type of coin by size. For example, a cent type set may include a Lincoln Memorial cent, wheat back cent, indian cent, etc.

Type Set
Collection of coins of one denomination. For example, a Quarter type set would consist of one of each design of quarter that the mint has made. (Dates and mint marks usually are not of concern.)

Unc
Abbreviation for Uncirculated.

Uncirculated
A circulation-strike coin that has never been used in commerce and has retained its original surface and luster; also called Mint State.

Varieties
Minor differences in the design of a coin. Example, 1955 Lincoln cent has a "double die" variety.

Very Fine (VF)
A grade range of 20 to 39 on a grading scale of 1 to 70.

Very Good (VG)
A grade range of 7 to 11 on a grading scale of 1 to 70.

W-Mint
Term applied to the coins struck at the West Point, New York branch of the U.S. Mint.

Waffled
Process where the mint destroys defective or worn coins by running them through a waffling machine.  This canceling process gives the former coin a waffle like appearance.  Coins cancelled in this manner are sold in bulk for scrap metal and often can not be distinguished as a US coin, except by their size.

Walker
Nick name for the "Walking Liberty Half dollar".

Walking liberty
A half dollar with the Walking Liberty design. Made between 1916 and 1947. Thought by some to be one of the US most beautiful coin designs. The current "American Silver Eagles" have the same design on their obverse (front).

War Nickel

Sometimes called "wartime" nickels. These Jefferson US five cent coins were made during part of World War II. At the time there was a concern that metal would be needed in the war effort. Therefore a new mixture of metals was used in the nickel. 35% silver, 9% manganese, and 56% copper. As of this writing they are worth more than five cents due to their silver content. These "silver war nickels", as some call them, will have a large mint mark above the memorial building on the reverse (back).

Whitman
Whitman Publishing company. Produces many collector's books, albums, and collecting supplies.

Year Set
Coin collection consisting of one of each kind (size and style) of coin issued by a country for a given year. (Mint marks are usually not of concern when collecting year sets.)