A
About good: typically it is a very heavily worn coin with portion of lettering, date and legends worn smooth. Abbreviation is AG.
Ag: chemical abbreviation for silver.
Alloy: a mixture of two or more metals in one coin. Any gold or silver coin of less than .999 purity is alloy.
Altered date: a coin with the date changed after the coin was minted. This is the illegal practice which is often used to deceive someone.
American Eagles: gold, silver or platinum coins which are very popular in the investment coin market. American Eagles have been released by U.S. government since October 1986.
Arbitrage: simultaneously buying or selling coins or other products in different markets with the purpose to take advantage taking into consideration price difference.
Au: chemical abbreviation for gold.
B
Bid: the price offered by a dealer with the purpose to buy a coin.
BU (brilliant uncirculated): the coin grading term used to describe that a coin has no wear, has never been in circulation and is in new condition.
Bullion coin: an investment coin which market price depends on its precious metal content, rather than its face value.
Business strike: a coin minted for general use and circulation.
C
Canadian Maple Leafs: modern bullion coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.
Cartwheel (or cart wheel): slang for U.S. Silver Dollar.
Certified (certified coin): a coin determined to be genuine by a coin certification service. Often the coin is graded by a special coin grading service, such as PCGS, NGS, ANACS.
Circulated: a coin which has been used in ecommerce one time or often more.
Coin: a stamped with marks or inscriptions peace of metal issued by a government or a bank as money.
Coin of the realm: a legal tender coin minted for general circulation.
Coin World: one of the most popular weekly coin periodical, and the most influential coin collecting publication for U.S. collectors. Published by Amos Press, P.O. Box 150, Sidney, Ohio 45365.
Comex: one of the largest commodities futures exchanges located in New York City where gold and silver are bought and sold.
Correction: a decline in prices coming around as a result of a rise in a market.
D
Double Eagles: U.S. twenty dollar gold coins minted between 1850 and 1932. They contain .9675 ounce of gold and are available in two designs: the St. Gaudens (Walking Liberty) and the Liberty.
E
Eagles: modern gold or silver bullions produced by U.S. government.
F
Face value: the legal value of a coin stamped on its side.
Fineness (also fine): the purity of a precious metal as a component of a coin measured in 1,000 parts of an alloy. Example: the Canadian Maple Leaf is .999 fine, which means it is 99.9% pure.
G
Grade: a rating that indicates the condition of a coin. This is one of the main determining factors of the value. There are two main grading services in the USA: PCGS and NGS.
Grain: earliest measure of weight for gold. One troy ounce is equal to 480 grains.
Gram: the basic measure of weight for coins and other products from precious metals. One troy ounce is equal to 31.1035 grams.
H
Half Eagles: U.S. gold coins produced between 1795 and 1929 with the face value of five dollars.
I
Intrinsic value: the value of the coin’s precious metal component.
J
Junk silver: silver coins produced by U.S. government with no investment or numismatic value.
K
Karat: a measure of the purity used in indicating the fineness of gold. Pure gold is 24 karat.
Koala: Australian platinum coin, released since 1987. The fineness is 99.5 %.
L
Legend: the main inscription on a coin.
Luster: the brightness of the coin’s metal. It can vary depending on the different factors, such as wear, humidity, polishing of dies, etc.
M
Market value: the stated price of a coin or a bullion coin.
Mint mark: a small letter or a symbol usually stamped on a coin to identify where it was produced.
Modern issues: modern coins produced for circulation or for sale to investors.
MS-60: abbreviation for mint state. The numbers that follow show the quality of the coin. MS-60 means the lowest grade; higher-grade coins are indicated MS-61 up to MS-70.
N
NGS: abbreviation for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America, one of the largest and most popular grading services in the USA.
Nobel: a current platinum bullion coin minted by the Isle of Man since 1983.
Nugget: a current gold bullion coin released by the government of Australia. The fineness is 99.99%.
Numismatic coins: coins whose market values are determined by their rarity, condition, mint date and marks, not taking into consideration their precious metal content.
O
Observe: the face of a coin with the main design.
Ounce: the measure of weight in precious metals market. One ounce is equal to 31.1035 grams.
P
PCGS: abbreviation for Professional Coin Grading Service, one of the most powerful coin grading services in the USA.
Planchet (planchlet is also possible): a piece of metal ready to be stamped as a coin.
Platinum Eagles: current platinum bullions produced by the U.S. Treasury.
Precious metals: typically silver, gold and platinum. Also this category includes rare metals, such as palladium and rhodium.
Proof: a coin usually produced for numismatic purpose or collectors market from carefully selected coin blanks that have been highly polished.
Pure gold: gold with the fineness of 99.9%, without alloying metals.
Pure silver: silver with the fineness of 99.9% without alloying metals.
Q
Quarter Eagle: U.S. gold coin minted between 1796 and 1929 with the intrinsic value of $2.50.
R
Raw: a coin which has not been certified or slabbed.
Red Book: one of the main price guide books of United States coins.
Restrike: officially minted replica of an original circulating coin.
Reverse: the back of a coin.
Roll: a group of original coins of the same denomination, assembled at the time of manufacture by banks, dealers or U.S. Mint, and then put into a paper tube.
S
Silver Eagles: current 1-oz silver bullion coins.
Sovereign: English gold coin with the face value of one pound sterling and a gold content of .2354 ounce.
Spot: the cost of the physical delivery of bullion bars.
Spread: the difference between the bid and the quote of a precious metal coin.
Sterling Silver: a product of jewelry, housewares, etc., whose fineness of silver content is 92%.
T
Tola: the measure of weight in India which is equal to 11.7 grams or 0.375 ounce.
Troy weight: the measure of weight for precious metals which is primary used in the USA. One troy ounce is equal to 31.1035 grams.
U
Uncirculated: a coin in new condition which does not have any trace of wear. Sometimes dealers use a term “Brilliant Uncirculated” for such coins.
V
W
Whitman: Whitman Publishing Company. The company produces a lot of supplies useful for collectors and investors, including books, albums, etc.
X
Y
Year: the date when a coin was minted.