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Dictionary of Coin Collector Terms and Definitions:

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"A Glossary of Coin Collecting Words and Definitions"

Locate the meaning of coin dealer and numismatic words.

COIN COLLECTOR WORDS

that start with the letter

" C "

cabinet

- a coin storage unit, often made of wood. Was used by some coin collectors prior to the modern era to store coins and coin collections. Most often the cabinets consisted of several thin drawers or movable shelves. Each drawer would have square shaped units in them, sometimes lined with felt or a soft material. The collector could slide out the drawer to examine and display the coins located in that drawer. In today's modern era of collecting, coin collectors have many more choices for displaying and protecting their collections.

cast coin

- a coin that was made by pouring melted metal into a mold or cast. Not made by striking a die against a blank like most coins. Casting was a common process used to try to counterfeit coins.

cabinet friction

- rubbing or wear on the highest points of a coin surface. In the days of wooden coin cabinets as coin drawers were opened and moved the coins inside would often slide around, thereby gradually rubbing against the drawer bottom. This friction would cause wear on the highest points of the coin. This term is still used today to indicate a coin that has a touch of wear on the highest points, such as an About Uncirculated (AU) coin.

cameo (deep cameo, ultra cameo, or cam)

- usually refers to the looks of a proof coin, where the background design has a mirror like look and the raised design has a frosted look to it. This contrast gives the resulting proof coin a cameo type affect. Deep cameo and ultra cameo describe the same cameo affect and imply that the cameo look is very pronounced and easily observed. This cameo affect is the norm for modern day proof coins, however it is rarely found on coins made for general circulation and is less common on coins minted prior to the mid-1960's. Attractive early cameo coins often sell for substantial premiums over non-cameo's of the same date and mint mark.

carbon spotting or carbon spots

- Dark spots, usually black or brown, found on the surface of a coin. They can be of various sizes and shapes. These carbon colored spots are caused by oxidation on the coin's surface and will sometimes hurt the coin's value.

Carson City Mint

- A United States government branch mint found at Carson City Nevada. Minted primarily silver coins from 1870 to the early 1890's. Carson City minted coins are easily identified by a "CC" mint mark. This mint was established primarily to use the vast amounts of silver being mined in that area of the USA.

cartwheel or cart wheel

- Nickname for a US Silver Dollar or large silver dollar like coin. This term is sometimes used to describe the luster effect on some brilliant uncirculated coins, where the light reflects off the surface of the coin pattern similar to the spokes of a wagon wheel.

cent

- one hundredth of a dollar on standard currency. Called a centime, centabo,

centimes, or penny in some countries.

centered or centering

- describes the position of the coin design in relation to the coin blank (planchet)A well centered coin is one that is struck right in the middle of the coin blank and shows a rim that is the same width all around the coin. See "off centered".

certified or certified coin

- A coin certified as genuine by a coin certification service as genuine. Often a certified coin will be graded by a coin grading service such as PCGS, NGC, ANACS. Often a certified coin is accompanied by a photograph certificate or sealed in a special plastic slab. Also see "slabbed".

Charlotte Mint

- A United States government branch mint in Charlotte North Carolina. Used to mint primarily gold coins prior to the Civil War. The mint stopped coin production in 1861. Charlotte Mint coins are identified by the "C" mint mark.

cherry picker (cherrypicker)

- a collector or dealer who finds hidden scarce coins by looking through collections or dealer’s inventory.

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.

chrometophobia

- a fear of money phobia. Some types of money phobias like chrometophobia have to do with using money and making decisions with it. Other types of phobias such as Fear of Germs, Verminophobia, misophobia, mysophobia, Spermatophobia, and Germ Fear might be the real cause of someone being afraid of coins or paper money.

chrematophobia

- another spelling for the "fear of money" type of phobia

circulation

- coins used in commerce to purchase items by the populace are in circulation. A circulated coin is one that has been used one time or often more. Coins that have any kind of wear from handling, etc are also considered circulated.

clad

- Clad coinage is a term used to describe coins that have a core of one type of metal and an outer layer of another metal or metals. Most U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars since 1965 have been clad. Clad differs from a plated coin in that the clad blank (or planchlet) is treated to seal the layers of metal together. Also called sandwich or hamburger coins.

clad coin

- Coins that have a core (center layer) and outer layer made of different metals. (See bi-metallic clad or silver clad.)

coin

- object usually made of flat metal. Most often it is small and round. Issued by a government as money. Usually, accepted by the community as having value. See token.

coin cabinet

- see "cabinet".

coin show

- see "show".

coin trends

- see "trends".

Coin World

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

collar (sometimes misspelled as coller)

- 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. This maintains the width of the finished coin as an exact size.

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 or medal issued to honor an outstanding person, place, occasion or event. Often commemorative coins are a one time or short lived production. Many times commemorative coins are not produced for general circulation.

condition

- The physical state of a coin or medal. Usually indicating the amount of wear. (See grading standards.)

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. See "abrasions", "bag mark", or "gouges".

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. A few other countries have used some copper nickel alloys of various percentages in their coin production.

"Cupro-nickel" is a similar term. See "cupro nickel".

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. Current government regulations require reproductions of US coins and paper money to be much larger or smaller than the original. For copies of tokens and non-US-government coins the "hobby protection act" requires that the item contains the word "copy" or "reproduction" in a readable visible place. Advice: Don't get caught making a copy of something without finding out exactly what is legal.

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. Also see "toning".

counterfeit

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

counter mark (countermark)

- an impression, mark, or stamp put on a coin to verify it’s use by another. Sometimes done by governments when a monetary revaluation occurs.

crackout

- coin that is cracked out of its plastic holder. Usually refers to coin removed from a grading service holder.

crown

- a large size silver coin. Usually from Great Britain or a former British country.

cud

- cattle ranchers have one definition for cud. Coin collectors have a different one. When a coin is struck by a broken die the place where the die is broken or missing will often show up as extra metal on the surface of a coin. This extra piece of metal or "cud" can be from a piece of the die being missing or a still intact, but moved.

cull: - a coin that is less desirable compared to other coins in a roll, tube, or group. Sometimes used to mean a very slick, worn, or defective coin. To "Cull-it-out" - means to separate a coin from others in a roll or group, because of its defects or low grade.

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. See "copper nickel".
currency: - any kind of coins or paper money that is used as a medium of exchange.