​🅰️ A

• Acid Date – A coin whose date has been revealed using acid, often on dateless Buffalo nickels.
• Actual Gold Weight (AGW) – The amount of pure gold content contained in a given coin.
• Album – A book-like holder with slots for storing coins
  
• Alloy – A mixture of two or more metals used to make coins (e.g., copper-nickel).
• American Eagle – Silver or gold coins made by the U.S government from 1986 to present. 
• ANACS – American Numismatic Association Certification Service is an American Grading Service .
  
• ANACS Certificate – An Opinion Grading and Authentication from ANACS.
• Ancient Coins – Coins struck in ancient civilizations like Greece, Rome, or Byzantium during the years 600B.C to 450 A.D.
• Appraisal – An expert valuation of a coin's market worth.
• Artificial Toning – Color added to a coin unnaturally to enhance appearance or value.
• AU – Abirritation for almost uncirculated.
  
• Auction – Selected coin or coins for sell bought by bids against other buyers. There is no set price, won by highest bidder. 
  
• Authentic – A real coin. Not a counterfeit coin. 
  
• Authentication – The process of determining if the coin is genuine or not. 
  

🅱️ B

• Bag Marks – Small nicks and scratches from coins hitting each other in mint bags.
• Bank Note – Paper Money issued by a bank. 
• Bar – A non-numismatic form of bullion made of precious metals. 
  
• Barber Coins – U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars designed by Charles E. Barber.
• Basal Value – The minimum value of a heavily worn coin.
• Bezel – A coin mount, often for jewelry.
• Bicentennial Coins – Special 1976 U.S. coins honoring the nation's 200th anniversary.
• Bid – An offer made to buy a coin that a coin dealer is willing to pay. 
  
• Blue Book – A collector's yearly pricing Handbook of U.S Coins. Known for having a blue cover. 
  
• Blue Sheet – The known name for the Certified Coin Dealer newsletter that is known to print on blue-like paper. 
  
• Brilliant – Any coin that is high in lust as a finish. 
• Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) – A coin with no signs of wear; often from a mint roll.
• Burnish – The polishing or rubbing of the surface of a coin or coin blank to make it shiny. 
  
• Business Strike – A coin struck for circulation. 
  

🅲 C

• Cameo – A coin with frosted design and mirror-like fields, usually on proof coins.
• Carbon Spot – The oxidation spots that appear to be brown or black on copper and gold coins. 
• Carson City Mint – A Coin minted in Carson City, NV from the years 1870-1885 and again 1889-1893.
  
• Carson City Mint Mark (CC) – A Coin marked with (CC) that was struck at the Carson City, NV Mint. 
  
• CCD –  Certified Coin Dealer
  
• CH –  Choice
  
• Circ – Circulated; No longer in mint state. Has been handled and exchanged
  
• Clad Coinage – Coins made with layers of different metals (e.g., modern quarters).
• Classic Head 
• Certified Coin – A coin authenticated and graded by a professional service.
• Coin Show – A gathering of dealers, collectors, and numismatists for buying/selling.
• Commemorative – A coin struck to honor an event, person, or anniversary.
• Condition Census – A list of the highest-graded examples of a specific coin.

🅳 D

• Die – The engraved tool used to strike the coin’s design.
• Die Crack – A raised line on a coin from a crack in the die.
• Draped Bust – A U.S. coin design used in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
• Double Die – A coin with a doubled image due to a misaligned die during minting.
• Dump Coin – A coin found in a coin hoard or cache (term used in Australia).

🅴 E

• Early American Coins – Coins struck before the establishment of the U.S. Mint.
• Encapsulated – A coin sealed in a protective holder by a grading service.
• Engraver – The artist who designs or cuts the coin’s image.
• Error Coin – A coin with a minting mistake that adds value or interest.

🅵 F

• Face Value – The legal tender value printed on the coin.
• Field – The flat background surface of a coin, not including the design or legend.
• Fiat Currency – Currency that is legal tender by government decree, not backed by a physical commodity.
• Fine (F) – A circulated coin grade showing moderate wear but still readable.
• Fineness – Purity of a coin's metal content (e.g., .999 fine silver).

🅶 G

• Grade – The condition of a coin, usually on a 1 to 70 scale.
• Grader – A professional who evaluates and assigns a grade to coins.
• Gold Bullion – Investment-grade gold, such as coins or bars.
• Gobrecht Dollar – A silver dollar designed by Christian Gobrecht in the 1830s.

🅷 H

• Half Dime – A small U.S. silver coin minted before the nickel.
• Hoard – A large collection of coins found together, often hidden for years.
• High Relief – A coin with deeply raised features that stand out from the field.
• Hobo Nickel – A coin (usually a Buffalo nickel) carved or altered as folk art.

🅸 I

• Incuse – A design that is pressed into the coin, below the surface.
• Ingot – A bar of precious metal, often stamped with its weight and purity.
• Inscription – The lettering or words on a coin.
• Intrinsic Value – The value of a coin’s metal content.

🅹 J

• Junk Silver – Circulated 90% silver U.S. coins with no collector premium.
• Jefferson Nickel – The five-cent coin design used since 1938.

🅺 K

• Key Date – A date in a coin series that is scarce and often highly valued.
• Krause Catalog – A widely used reference for world coins.

🅻 L

• Legal Tender – Currency that must be accepted as payment under law.
• Legend – The inscription or words that follow the rim of the coin.
• Liberty Head – A common design element on many 19th-century U.S. coins.
• Luster – The way light reflects off a coin’s surface.

🅼 M

• Mint – A facility where coins are produced.
• Mint Mark – A small letter(s) on a coin indicating its mint of origin (e.g., D, S, P).
• Mintage – The total number of coins produced for a specific issue.
• Morgan Dollar – A popular U.S. silver dollar minted from 1878–1904 and in 1921.

🅽 N

• NGC – Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, a major coin grading service.
• Numismatics – The study and collection of coins, tokens, currency, and medals.
• Numismatist – A coin collector or specialist in coin collecting.

🅾️ O

• Obverse – The front or "heads" side of a coin, usually with a portrait or emblem.
• Overdate – A date punched over another date on a coin die (e.g., 1942/1).

🅿️ P

• Pattern Coin – A prototype coin not released for circulation.
• PCGS – Professional Coin Grading Service, another major grading authority.
• Planchet – The blank metal disc before it's struck into a coin.
• Proof – A high-quality coin struck with polished dies, usually for collectors.
• Private Mint – A non-government mint producing medals, rounds, or tokens.

🆀 Q

• Quarter Eagle – A U.S. gold coin worth $2.50, minted in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Quantity Grading – Buying/selling bulk coins based on average grade and value.

🆁 R

• Raw Coin – A coin that hasn’t been graded or encapsulated.
• Reeded Edge – Grooved edge of a coin to deter shaving precious metal.
• Reverse – The back or "tails" side of a coin.
• Round – A non-legal tender silver or gold medallion, often .999 fine.

🆂 S

• Slab – A coin in a sealed plastic holder from a grading service.
• Specimen – A coin struck for display or testing, usually better than circulation quality.
• Strike – The act of stamping a coin; also used to describe a coin’s sharpness of detail.

🆃 T

• Token – A privately issued coin-like object used as a substitute for currency.
• Toning – Natural discoloration or coloring of a coin’s surface over time.
• Trade Dollar – A U.S. silver dollar made in the 1800s for trade with Asia.

🆄 U

• Uncirculated – A coin that has not been used in commerce and shows no wear.
• Ultra Cameo – A proof coin with deep frosted devices and mirrored fields.

🆅 V

• Variety – A minor difference in design or lettering from the standard issue.
• VAM – A die variety of Morgan and Peace dollars named after Van Allen and Mallis.

🆆 W

• Waffled Coin – A coin destroyed by the mint with a criss-cross pattern to devalue it.
• Walking Liberty Half – A classic U.S. half dollar minted from 1916–1947.
• Wheat Penny – A Lincoln cent minted from 1909–1958 with wheat stalks on the reverse.
• West Point Mint (W) – A U.S. Mint branch that produces commemorative and bullion coins.

🆇 X

• XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) – A method used to determine the metal content of coins without damaging them.

🆈 Y

• Year Set – A complete set of all coin denominations from a single year.
• Yuan – The base unit of Chinese currency, found on many modern foreign coins.

🆉 Z

• Zinc Penny – A modern penny made primarily from zinc with a copper coating (post-1982).
• Zerbe Proof – Special Morgan dollar proofs made for coin promoter Farran Zerbe.