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| ABC of Coins |
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Ancient Coin: reference to any coin issued before A.D. 500.
Blanks: pieces of metal intended for coinage but as yet unstruck.
Border: a protective periphery either of radial lines or beads within the raised rim of a coin.
Brilliant: untoned, without tarnish or oxidation, a copper coin is considered brilliant if it retains a full original red colour. A silver, nickel or gold coin is usually considered brilliant in the absence of toning or oxidation (although it may have some spots or light toning hues around the periphery) and if its original lustre is considerable intact. |
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Bullion: precious metal in a tradable form like a bar, plate, ingot; occasionally struck into a coin or jewellery.
Bullion Coin: coin with little numismatic value sold for its precious metal content and traded at the current bullion price.
Circulated: a coin used commercially and which therefore suffers wear and tear; a used coin.
Coin: a piece of metal intended for use as legal tender and stamped with inscriptions and exact monetary value. Issued by an authority (often a government or bank) that guarantees its weight and purity.
Commemorative Coin: a coin issued by governments to celebrate and honour important events, and anniversaries, etc. They are extremely popular among collectors. |
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Currency: refers to coins and paper money that are legal tender. However, many people use the word currency for paper money only.
Denomination: face value of a coin or paper note with an exact monetary value marked. Considered legal tender.
Device: the main design, such as portrait, shield or heraldic emblem, on the obverse of a coin, token or medal.
Die: an engraved metal punch used to strike coins. |
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Edge: the depth / surface perpendicular to the obverse and reverse, regarded as the third side of a coin; not to be confused with the rim (raised border of coin). Edges can be plain, lettered and milled.
Face: the front of a coin or currency note, usually the side with signatures, honorary emblems, portraits, etc.
Face Value: the value of a coin or paper money as imprinted or marked on that unit.
Field: flat, un-detailed part of the surface of a coin between the raised designs, including the date. The size of the field is very important to numismatists as an aid to grading coins.
Fine Gold: untainted pure gold.
Fineness: degree or grade of purity of precious metal, either in monetary or bullion form. Most forms of precious metal require an additional metal to provide a durable alloy. Often stated in terms of purity per 1,000 parts: i.e. a 925 fine silver coin has 92.5% silver and 7.5 % other metal content.
Flow Lines: microscopic linear marks on a coin surface caused by the movement of metal under striking pressure.
Frost: an intense lustre (not mirror-like) caused by striking a coin with sandblasted dies, often used in reference to proof coins.
Hairlines: tiny scratches on a coin, caused by cleaning or poor storage, an abundance of which can reduce a coin's value.
High Relief: a coin with deep concave fields due to highly raised designs. High relief coins require extra pressure to be fully struck and are difficult to stack. |
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Legend: the main inscription on a coin.
Lettered Edge: the edge of a coin with an inscription around it.
Low Relief: a coin with a shallow, relatively flat field.
Lustre: brightness or brilliance of a coin's metal. Coin lustre is affected by wear and tear, handling, polishing of dies or blanks, and exposure to chemicals, humidity and temperature extremes. |
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Medallion: a piece of metal , usually engraved, used as a medal , or worn on the body as a special symbol. It cannot be used as legal tender.
Mint Mark: a letter or symbol indicating the mint of origin.
Numismatics: the science, study or collecting of coins, paper money, tokens, medallions, orders and similar objects.
Obverse: the front or face of a coin, which bears the principal design or device, often as prescribed by the issuing authority, i.e. a Coat of Arms.
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Proof: distinct with an almost mirror-like surface, proof coins are made from a high-quality die and carefully selected coin blanks that have been highly polished. This achieves perfect strikes with even impressions and distinct designs. Each coin is struck twice or more.
Proof-Like: a coin that received special minting treatment and which has a mirror surface prized by collectors, but with minor imperfections due to the minting process.
Relief: any part of a coin's design which is raised.
Reverse: the back of a coin, usually opposite from the portrait or date. |
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Rim: raised border around the circumference of a coin, not to be confused with the edge.
Series: related coinage of the same denomination, design and type, including modifications and varieties of design.
Sterling Silver: silver that is .925 fine or with a silver content of 92.5%.
Token: a piece of durable material specially marked and unofficially issued for monetary, advertising, services or other purposes within restricted circulatory zones.
Uncirculated Set: set of one of each coin issued for circulation, usually in a series. Also called an “Uncirculated Mint Set”, or unofficially a “mint set”.
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