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Rosland Capital's Precious Metals & Coins Glossary

Rosland Capital's Precious Metals & Coins Glossary

Z

  • Zinc
    Metal alloyed with copper to produce brass; zinc-coated steel was also widely used in Europe during both World Wars.

Y

  • Year set
    Set of coins produced annually by a mint, usually containing a specimen of each coin issued by the mint during the year.

W

  • White gold
    Ancient term for electrum, which differs from the modern definition.

V

  • Vis-à-vis
    (French, “face-to-face”) Descriptive of a double portrait in which the two heads face each other.

U

  • Uniface
    A coin struck with the design on one side only

T

  • Tin
    Metal used for small coins in Malaysia, Thailand and the East Indies, and in British halfpence and farthings (1672–92). It is more usually alloyed with copper to form bronze.
  • Token
    Coin-like piece of metal, plastic or card issued by merchants, local authorities or other organizations, often during periods when government coinage is in short supply, but also produced extensively as a substitute for money.
  • Touchpiece
    Coin kept as a lucky charm and often pierced to wear as jewelery, notably the English gold angel, which was believed to cure or ward off scrofula, a skin disease known as the King’s Evil.
  • Trade coin
    Coin produced for use outside the country of origin as part of international trade, such as British and American trade dollars.
  • Truncation
    Stylized cut at the base of the neck of a portrait, sometimes the site of a mint-mark, the engraver’s initials or a die number.
  • Trussel
    Upper die used in hammered coinage bearing the reverse design, the opposite of the pile.
  • Type
    Coin’s basic distinguishing design.
  • Type set
    One of each coin of a particular design, series or period.

S

  • Scissel
    Clippings of metal left after a blank has been cut; sometimes a clipping accidentally adheres to the blank during striking, producing a crescent-shaped flaw.
  • Scyphate
    (from Greek scypha, skiff or small boat) Cup-shaped, used to describe Byzantine concave coins.
  • Sede vacante
    (Latin, “vacant see”) Inscription used on issues of ecclesiastical mints between the death of a prelate and the election of his successor.
  • Series
    All the issues of a coin of one denomination, design and type, including modifications and variations.
  • Short-cross coinage
    English pennies on which the arms of the reverse cross fell far short of the rim.
  • Siege money
    Emergency currency issued under blockade.
  • Silver
    Precious metal widely used for coinage from the 6th century BC onward.
  • Slabbing
    Method of encapsulating a coin permanently, particularly in a rectangular plastic case, to prevent deterioration.
  • Specie
    (Latin, “in kind”) Money in the form of coins, especially of precious metals.
  • Steel
    Metal refined and tempered from iron and used in a stainless or chromed version for coinage since 1939. Copper-clad steel is now extensively used in place of bronze.

R

  • Recoinage
    Process of recalling and demonetizing old coins, which are then melted down and made into new coins.
  • Reeding
    Grooved lines around the perimeter on the edge of a coin, see graining
  • Relief
    Raised parts of the design.
  • Restrike
    Coin produced from the original dies, but long after the period in which they were current.
  • Reverse
    “Tails” side of a coin, usually featuring arms, the value or a pictorial design.
  • Rim
    Raised border around the outside of a coin’s face.

P

  • Patina
    Surface quality acquired as a result of environmental interaction over time, such as the oxidation of metal.
  • Pattern
    Design piece prepared by a mint for approval by the issuing authority, not actually put into production. Patterns may differ from issued coins in metal or minor details, but many bear designs quite different from those eventually adopted.
  • Pellet
    Raised circular ornament, sometimes used as a spacing device in the inscription.
  • Pieces of eight
    Nickname for Spanish silver 8 real coins.
  • Piedfort
    (US piefort) Coin struck on a blank of two or three times the normal weight and thickness.
  • Pile
    Lower die bearing the obverse motif, the opposite of the trussel.
  • Planchet
    Clean, prepared piece of metal on which the coin is struck, see blank
  • Plate money
    Large, cumbersome copper plates used as money in Sweden, 1643–1768.
  • Platinum
    Precious metal first used for coins in Russia in 1819 and occasionally in recent years for proof coins.
  • Privy mark
    Secret mark incorporated in a coin design as a security device or to identify the particular die used.
  • Profile
    Side portrait often used on the obverse of coins.
  • Proof
    Originally a trial strike but in recent years a coin struck to a very high standard, often in precious metals.
  • Punch
    Piece of hardened metal bearing a design or lettering used to impress a die or a coin.

O

  • Obverse
    “Heads” side of a coin.
  • Off-metal
    Descriptive of a coin struck in a metal other than that officially authorized.
  • Overdating
    Method of changing a date without the expense of engraving an entirely new die. One or more digits are altered by superimposing other numerals using a punch.
  • Overstrike
    Coin produced when a previously struck coin is substituted for a blank, on which traces of the original design remain.

N

  • Nickel
    Base metal used extensively in coinage as a substitute for silver, frequently alloyed with copper to make cupro-nickel.
  • Non-circulating legal tender
    Coins that, though technically valid for use, do not circulate in practice (such as silver and gold commemoratives). Abbreviated to NCLT.
  • Numismatics
    (from Latin numisma, coin) The study and collection of paper money, coins and medals.

M

  • Maundy money
    Set of small silver pennies distributed by the British sovereign to the poor on Maundy Thursday (preceding Good Friday), a medieval custom still enacted. Ordinary coins were originally used but special 1, 2, 3 and 4 pence coins were first minted in 1822.
  • Milling
    Mechanical process for the production of coins, in use from the 16th century.
  • Mint
    Establishment in which coins are produced. Also used as a grading term.
  • Mint set
    Coins still enclosed in the package or case issued by the mint.
  • Mint-mark
    Mark on a coin identifying the mint at which it was struck.
  • Mirror surface
    Highly polished, flawless surface of the field of a proof coin.
  • Mis-strike
    Coin on which the impression of the die has been struck off-center.
  • Moneyer
    Mint official in pre-industrial era responsible for striking coinage of legal weight and quality.
  • Mule
    Coin whose obverse and reverse designs are wrongly matched. Can be comprised of different denominations or even separate foreign currencies.

L

  • Laureate
    Descriptive of a design incorporating a laurel wreath, either adorning the brows of a ruler or enclosing the value.
  • Legal tender
    Coin declared by law to be current money.
  • Legend
    Inscription on a coin.
  • Long cross coinage
    English pennies first issued by Henry III, on which the arms of the cross on the reverse reached to the rim.
  • Luster
    Sheen or bloom on the surface of an uncirculated coin.

K

  • Key date
    The rarest date in a long-running series.
  • Klippe
    Coin struck on a square or rectangular blank hand-cut from sheet metal, originally in a time of emergency.

J

  • Jeton
    (from French jeter, to throw) Alternative term for counter.
  • Jugate
    (from Latin jugum, yoke) Alternative term for conjoined.

I

  • Incuse
    Descriptive of an impression that cuts into the surface of a coin.
  • Ingot
    Piece of precious metal, cast in a mould and stamped with its weight and fineness.
  • Intrinsic value
    Net value based on the metal content of a coin, as opposed to its nominal or face value.
  • Iron metal
    Used in primitive currency such as the spits of ancient Greece, and for emergency coinage in both World Wars.

H

  • Hammered
    Descriptive of coins struck by hand, using a hammer to impress the dies.
  • Hoard
    Group of coins buried or hidden in the past.
  • Holed coin
    (1) Coin minted with a central hole. (2) Coin pierced after striking, to wear as jewelery or a talisman.
  • Hub
    Right-reading metal punch used to strike working dies.

G

  • Globular
    Descriptive of a coin struck on a very thick dump with convex sides.
  • Gold
    Precious metal used for coins since the 7th century BC.
  • Grade
    Description of the condition of a collectable coin for the purposes of valuation and trade.
  • Graining
    Pattern of close vertical ridges around the edge of milled coins, originally devised to eliminate the fraudulent practice of clipping. Also known as reeding or milling.
  • Gun money
    Emergency Irish coinage of 1689–91 struck from gunmetal by the deposed James II in order to pay and supply his troops during the Williamite or Jacobean War.

F

  • Face
    Obverse or reverse surface of a coin.
  • Face value
    Value of the denomination applied to a coin, distinct from its intrinsic value.
  • Facing
    Descriptive of a portrait facing to the front instead of in profile.
  • Fantasy
    Piece purporting to be a coin but either emanating from a non-existent country or never authorized by the country whose name is inscribed on it.
  • Field
    Flat part of a coin between the legend and effigy or other raised parts of the design.
  • Flan
    Unmarked piece of metal before striking, also see blank
  • Forgery
    Unauthorized copy or imitation, produced primarily to deceive collectors.
  • Frosting
    Matte finish used for the high relief areas of proof coins to contrast with the polished surface of the field.

E

  • Eagle
    US gold coin with an American eagle obverse and a face value of $10, circulating until 1933.
  • Ecclesiastical coins
    Coins struck under the authority of an archbishop or other prelate, prevalent in the Middle Ages and surviving in coins of the Papacy.
  • Edge
    The side of a coin, perpendicular to the obverse and reverse surfaces, which may be plain, inscribed or grained.
  • Edge inscription
    Lettering on the edge of coins designed to prevent clipping.
  • Edge ornament
    Elaboration of the graining on milled coins designed as a security device.
  • Effigy
    Portrait or bust on the obverse of a coin.
  • Electrum
    Naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver prevalent in the ancient coins of the Mediterranean region; it was also known as white gold.
  • Encased money
    Stamps enclosed in small metal discs and used in lieu of coins during the American Civil War and in Europe during and after World War I.
  • Engraving
    Technique of cutting designs and inscriptions in dies used for striking coins.
  • Epigraphy
    Study of inscriptions engraved in stone or metal, usually to determine the date and provenance of an artefact so inscribed.
  • Erasure
    Removal of the title or effigy of a ruler from coinage issued posthumously, notably in Roman coins of Caligula and Nero.
  • Error
    Mistake in the design or production of a coin.
  • Exergue
    Bottom segment of the face of a coin, usually divided from the rest of the field by a horizontal line and often containing the date or value.

D

  • Debasement
    Reduction of a coin’s precious metal content.
  • Decimal currency
    Currency system in which the basic unit is divided into 10, 100 or 1000 subsidiary units.
  • Demonetization
    Withdrawal of coins from circulation, declaring them to be worthless.
  • Denomination
    Value given to a coin or note of paper money.
  • Device
    Term derived from heraldry for the pattern or emblem on a coin.
  • Die
    Hardened piece of metal bearing the mirror or wrong-reading image of a device, used to strike one side of a blank.
  • Die break
    Raised line or bump in a relief image caused by a crack in the die.
  • Dodecagonal
    Twelve-sided.
  • Dump
    Coin struck on a very thick blank.

C

  • Carat
    (US karat) Term used to denote the fineness of gold, being 1⁄24 of the whole. Thus 22 carat gold is .916 fine.
  • Cartwheel
    Nickname of the British penny and 2 pence copper coins of 1797, weighing respectively 1oz/28.35g and 2oz/56.7g, with raised rims resembling cartwheels.
  • Cased set
    Set of coins in mint condition, packaged by the mint.
  • Cash
    (from Portuguese caixa and Tamil kacu, a small coin) Cast circular coins in copper or bronze with a square central hole, used as subsidiary coinage in China.
  • Cast coins
    Coins made by pouring molten metal into molds, rather than by striking discs of metal with dies.
  • Clad
    Descriptive of a coin with a core of one metal covered with a layer or coating of another.
  • Clash marks
    Mirror-image traces found on a coin struck with dies that have been damaged by having been previously struck together without a blank between them.
  • Clipping
    Removing slivers of silver or gold from the edge of coins, an illegal but widespread practice until the 1660s, when milled coins began to be struck with grained edges.
  • Cob
    Irregularly shaped silver piece sliced from a bar of silver and crudely stamped for use in Spanish America in the 16th to 18th centuries.
  • Coin
    Piece of metal marked with a device and issued by a government for use as money.
  • Coin weight
    Piece of metal of exactly the weight of a known coin, used to check weight and fineness of matching coins.
  • Collar
    Ring within which the obverse and reverse dies operate to restrict the spread of the blank between them; it is often engraved with an inscription or pattern that is impressed on the edge of the coin.
  • Commemorative
    Coin struck to celebrate a historic anniversary or personality or publicize an event.
  • Conjoined portrait
    Obverse portrait with two heads or busts in profile, facing the same direction and overlapping. Also known as accolated or jugate.
  • Convention money
    Coins struck by neighbouring states and mutually acceptable; specifically the issues of Austria and Bavaria, which spread to other German states in the early 19th century.
  • Copper
    (1) Metal widely used for subsidiary coinage for more than 2500 years, usually alloyed with tin to make bronze, but also alloyed with nickel or silver. (2) Nickname for small denomination coins.
  • Coppernose
    Nickname derived from the debased English silver shillings of Henry VIII because the silver tended to wear off the king’s nose, the highest point of the obverse.
  • Counter piece
    Resembling a coin but actually intended for use on a medieval accountancy board or in gambling.
  • Counterfeit
    Imitation of a coin for circulation, intended to deceive the public and defraud the state.
  • Countermark
    Punch mark applied to a coin to change its value or authorize its circulation in a different state.
  • Crockards
    Debased imitations of English silver pennies, produced in the Low Countries and imported into England in the late 13th century.
  • Crown
    Gold of 22 carat (.916) fineness, so called because it was first used in England in 1526 for the gold crown; it remains the British standard.
  • Cupellation
    (Latin cupella, little cup) Refining process used to separate gold and silver from lead and other impurities in a bone ash pot called a cupel; used in assaying to determine the fineness of precious metals.
  • Cupro-nickel
    (US copper-nickel) Alloy of copper and nickel.
  • Currency
    Money of all kinds, including coins, paper notes, tokens and other articles, passing current in general circulation.
  • Current
    Descriptive of coins and paper money in circulation.
  • Cut money
    Coins cut into smaller pieces to provide proportionately smaller values for general circulation.

B

  • Barbarous
    Descriptive of coins struck by Celtic and Germanic tribes in imitation of Greek or Roman coins.
  • Base metal
    Non-precious metal or an alloy containing neither gold nor silver.
  • Bath metal
    Inferior bronze alloy used at Bath, England, for casting cannon, but also employed by William Wood of Bristol to produce tokens for Ireland and colonial America.
  • Beading
    Border of raised dots round the rim of a coin.
  • Billon
    Low-grade alloy of copper with a high percentage of another metal, usually silver.
  • Bimetallic
    Made of two different metals or alloys; such coins usually have a centre in one metal and outer ring in another.
  • Bimetallism
    Descriptive of coinage consisting of coins in two different metals with a fixed ratio between them, such as gold and silver or silver and bronze.
  • Bit
    (1) Segment of a coin that has been cut up in order to circulate at half or one quarter the value of the entire coin. (2) Nickname of the 1 real piece that circulated in North America in the 17th and 18th centuries, worth one eighth of a dollar, or 12 1/2 cents.
  • Blank
    Disc of metal cut or punched out of a strip or sheet, on which a coin is struck. Also known as a flan or planchet.
  • Blundered inscription
    (1) Jumbled lettering in inscriptions on barbarous coins, reflecting the illiteracy of the makers copying Greek or Roman coins. (2) Unreadable inscription as a result of a mis-strike.
  • Bon pour
    (French, “good for”) Inscription on 1920s French tokens used during a shortage of legal tender coins.
  • Bourse
    Area in a coin exhibition where dealers sell their wares.
  • Bracteate
    (from Latin bractea, a thin piece of metal) Coin struck on such a thin blank that the image impressed on one side shows through on the other.
  • Brass
    Alloy of copper and zinc.
  • Brockage
    Mis-struck coin with only one design, normal on one side and incuse on the other, caused when a struck coin clings to the die and strikes the next blank to pass through the press.
  • Bronze
    Alloy of copper and tin.
  • Bullet money
    Globular pieces of silver with impressed marks, used as currency in Thailand from the 14th century until 1904.
  • Bullion
    Precious metal whose value is reckoned solely by its weight and fineness.
  • Bullion coin
    Coin struck in precious metal, now usually with an inscription giving its weight and fineness, whose value fluctuates according to the market price of the metal.
  • Buyer’s premium
    Percentage of the purchase price at auction paid by the winning bidder to the auction house.

A

  • Accolated
    Portraits or faces on a coin overlapping and facing in the same direction; see conjoined portrait.
  • Adjustment
    The filing down of a blank coin to reduce it to the correct weight before striking, revealed by file marks on the surface.
  • Ae
    Abbreviation of aes (Latin, “bronze”), used to denote copper, brass, or bronze.
  • Aes grave
    (Latin, “heavy bronze”) Heavy coinage of the Roman Republic from 269 bc.
  • Aes rude
    (Latin, “rough bronze”) Irregular lumps of bronze used as money before the adoption of regular coinage, c. 400 bc.
  • Aes signatum
    (Latin, “signed bronze”) Regular bars or ingots cast to a standard weight, stamped to guarantee their weight, 289–269 bc.
  • Alliance Coinage
    Coins struck (or minted) by two or more state governments in conjunction.
  • Alloy
    A mixture of two or more metals, such as bronze (copper and tin) combined to result in a product with qualities of each individual metal such greater strength or resistance to corrosion.
  • Altered
    Deliberately changing the appearance of, usually to increase the value of a coin (such as changing a common date to a rare one by filing one of the digits).
  • Aluminum
    Lightweight silver-colored metal used for coins of low denominations.
  • Aluminum-bronze
    Durable, gold-colored alloy of aluminum and copper.
  • Amulet
    Coin whose design confers magical properties, often pierced and worn to ward off evil spirits. See also touchpiece.
  • Anepigraphic coin
    Coin with no inscription.
  • Angel
    Gold coin named for its image of Archangel Michael, first used in France in 1340 and introduced to England in 1465, with a value of 6 shillings and 8 pence.
  • Annealing
    Process of heating and cooling metal to relieve stresses before it is processed.
  • Annulet
    Small circle used as an ornament or spacing device in inscriptions.
  • Antoniniani
    Roman imperial coins named after the emperor Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) in whose reign they were first minted, also known as radiate.
  • Ar
    Abbreviation of argentum (Latin, “silver”).
  • Assay
    Test to determine the fineness, quality, and ingredients of precious metal.
  • Attribution
    Identification of a coin by such data as the issuer, date, reign, mint or denomination.
  • Au
    Abbreviation of aurum (Latin, “gold”).

The World Encyclopedia of Coins & Coin Collecting

We are delighted to offer this glossary by permission of Lorenz Books, publishers of one of our favorite books, The World Encyclopedia of Coins, written by Dr. James Mackay.