Coin Terms To Know

 

Here is a list of coin terms to know when starting a collection...

Alloy: A mixture of two or more metals

American Numismatic Association (ANA): nonprofit educational organization that encourages the study of money throughout the world.

Annealing: Heating blanks (planchets) in a furnace that softens the metal

Assay: To analyze and determine the purity of metal

Bag Mark: A mark on a coin from contact with other coins in a mint bag

Bi-Metallic: A coin comprised of two different metals, bonded together

Blank: Another word for planchet, the blank piece of metal on which a coin design is stamped

Bullion: Platinum, gold or silver in the form of bars or other storage shapes, including coins and ingots

Bullion Coin: Precious metal coin traded at current bullion prices

Business Strike: A coin produced for general circulation (as opposed to a proof or uncirculated coin specially made for collectors)

Bust: A portrait on a coin, usually including the head, neck and upper shoulders

Clad Coinage: Coins that have a core and outer layer made of different metals. Since 1965, all circulating U.S. dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars have been clad.

Coin: Flat piece of metal issued by the government as money

Collar: A metal piece that restrains the expanding metal of a planchet during striking

Commemorative: A special coin or medal issued to honor an outstanding person, place, or event

Condition: The physical state of a coin

Counterfeit: A fake coin or other piece of currency made so that people will think it’s genuine

Currency: Any kind of money – coins or paper money – that’s used as a medium of exchange

Denomination: The different values of money

Die: An engraved stamp used for impressing a design (images, value, and mottoes) upon a blank piece of metal to make a coin

Designer: The artist who creates a coin’s design (but doesn’t necessarily sculpt the design)

Edge: The outer border of a coin, considered the “third side” (not to be confused with “rim“)

Engraver: An artist who sculpts a digital or clay model of a coin’s design in bas relief

Error: An improperly produced coin, overlooked in production, and later released into circulation

Face Value: The sum for which a coin can be spent or exchanged (a dime’s face value is 10¢) as opposed to its collector or precious metal value

Field: The portion of a coin’s surface not used for design or inscription

Grade: Rating which indicates how much a coin has worn from circulation

Hairlines: Tiny lines or scratches on coins, usually caused by cleaning or polishing

Incuse: Opposite of relief, the part of a coin’s design that is pressed into the surface

Ingot: Metal cast into a particular shape; used in making coins

Inscription: Words stamped on a coin or medal

Intrinsic Value (Bullion Value): Current market value of the precious metal in a coin

Key Date: A scarce date required to complete a collection, usually more difficult to find and afford

Legal Tender: Coins, dollar bills or other currency issued by a government as official money

Legend: Principal lettering on a coin

Medal: A metal object resembling a coin issued to recognize an event, place, person or group, with no stated value and not intended to circulate as money

Medium of Exchange: Anything that people agree has a certain value

Mint: A place where coins of a country are manufactured under government authority

Mint Luster: The dull, frosty, or satiny shine found on uncirculated coins

Mint Mark: A small letter on a coin identifying which of the United States Mint’s facilities struck the coin

Mint Set: A complete set of coins of each denomination produced by a particular mint

Mint State: Same as uncirculated

Mintage: The quantity of coins produced

Motto: A word, sentence or phrase inscribed on a coin to express a guiding national principle, such as, “E Pluribus Unum” inscribed on all U.S. circulating coins is Latin for “out of many, one”

Mylar®: Trademark for a polyester film used to store coins.

Numismatics: The study and collecting of things that are used as money, including coins, tokens, paper bills, and medals

Obsolete: A coin design or type that is no longer produced

Obverse: The front (or “heads”) side of a coin

Off-Center: Describes a coin that has received misaligned strike from the coin press and has portions of its design missing

Overstrike: A new coin produced with a previously struck coin used as the planchet

Pattern: An experimental or trial piece, generally of a new design or metal

Planchet: The blank piece of metal on which a coin design is stamped

Proof: A specially produced coin made from highly polished planchets and dies and often struck more than once to accent the design. Proof coins receive the highest quality strike possible and can be distinguished by their mirror-like background and frosted foreground.

Proof Set: A complete set of proof coins of each denomination made in a year

Relief: The part of a coin’s design that is raised above the surface, opposite of incuse

Restrike: A coin that is minted using the original dies but at a later date

Reverse: The back (or “tails”) side of a coin

Riddler: A machine that screens out blanks (planchets) that are the wrong size or shape

Rim: The raised edge on both sides of a coin (created by the upsetting mill) that helps protect the coin’s design from wear

Roll: Coins packaged by banks, dealers, or the United States Mint

Series: A collection of coins that contains all date and mint marks of a specific design and denomination

Slab: Nickname for some protective coin encapsulation methods, especially those that are permanently sealed and rectangular

Strike: The process of stamping a coin blank with a design. The strength of the imprint – full, average, or weak – affects the value of rare coins.

Type Set: A collection of coins based on denomination

Uncirculated: The term “uncirculated” may have three different meanings when applied to a coin:

• It can refer to the particular manufacturing process by which a coin is made
• It can be used as a grade when referring to a coin’s degree of preservation and quality of the strike
• It can point to the fact that a coin has not been used in everyday commerce

At the United States Mint, the term uncirculated refers to the special coining process used to make the coin, which gives it a brilliant finish. Uncirculated coins are manufactured using the same process as circulating coins, but with quality enhancements such as slightly higher coining force, early strikes from dies, special cleaning after stamping, and special packaging. Uncirculated coins may vary to some degree because of blemishes, toning, or slight imperfections.

Upsetting Mill: A machine that raises the rim on both sides of a blank (planchet)

Variety: A minor change from the basic design type of a coin

Year Set: A collection of all coins issued by a country for any one year (does not necessarily include every mint mark)

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Retiring Old Coins

 

Coins can last around 30 years in circulation before they’re too worn to use. When coins reach the end of their life, the Federal Reserve removes them from circulation. Old coins are melted down and used for other things.

Why Would You Want To Melt Coins?

The only time it ever makes sense to melt down coins is when the face value or collector's intrinsic value of that coin is less than the value of the metal used to make the coin. For instance, in 1979 and 1980, silver prices rose to just shy of $50 an ounce ” an all-time high. [1] As a result, an untold number of coins with silver content were melted down because their metal was more valuable than the coin's value.

This rarely happens. Generally, coins are worth more in numismatic value than they are when melted down. This is especially true when it comes to the costs of the melting process itself. However, it all depends on the current price of the metal and whether it is high enough to warrant the melting.

What Rules Are in Place for Melting Coins?

It's illegal to melt down coins in some countries. Canada, for instance, forbids the melting down of any Canadian legal tender in the country. Be sure to check in with your country's laws on melting or defacing official coinage before sending your coins off to the furnace.

In the United States, melting non-circulating silver or gold coins is legal. As long as the coin is not in circulation, you can melt it down regardless of its composition. Source

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What Types of Coins are Good for New Collectors?

 

Many who are just getting started in coin collecting ask themselves this very question. Here are some tried and true suggestions for beginners who would like to build a coin collection:

Rare Pennies and Cents;

Many collectors start off with the Wheat Penny. This is the longest-running coin series in United States history. Lincoln Cents were first minted back in 1909 for the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. Although the design has changed several times, the coins have been continuously minted since 1909. A complete collection of Lincoln Cents from 1909 to date numbers about 300 different coins. This is a great starting point as many coins are relatively inexpensive in circulated grades.

Morgan Silver Dollars;

Another great series to collect is the Morgan Silver Dollar. These coins have great appeal and are some of the most collected coins worldwide. While many are very accessible even for beginners, there are a few expensive coins in this collection – 1889-CC, 1893-S, 1895 – that would set you back thousands of dollars for even low-grade examples. Morgan Dollars were minted in Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, Carson City and Denver.

U.S. Classic Commemorative Coin Collections;

There are 50 basic types of coins, which include quarter, half dollar and dollar coins, and every design is different. All coins were minted between 1892 and 1954 and all are silver. Commemorative coins were minted to celebrate grand and trivial events alike.

Buffalo Nickels;

One of the more popular coins to collect are Buffalo Nickels. These unique coins are a historic callback to the Old West, and many collectors aim to have a complete set of the nickels. Some of these coins have exceptionally rare variants with errors, such as the three-legged buffalo or the raised ground reverse. Nickels produced by the San Francisco mint are highly sought after for their rarity. Alternatively, common buffalo nickels are relatively easy to come by, but the rare ones are much more interesting to pursue.

Roosevelt Dimes;

After President Roosevelt’s death in 1946, the U.S. Mint designed a tribute coin in his honor. Today, you can collect dimes from date, mint, and strike. Avid collectors of the Roosevelt Dimes strive to find a set of fully struck coins as well as full torch sets. Unlike other collectable historical coins, these dimes only have one rarity: the 1982 No Mint Mark variety.

Kennedy Half-Dollars;

Another tribute coin to a beloved leader, the Kennedy Half-Dollars have many different varieties that make them highly coveted collectables. When first issued after Kennedy’s death in 1964, these coins were made with 90% silver. Because of the high precious metal content, this initial version is the most desirable. In 1965, the silver content was reduced to 40%, and then eliminated entirely in 1971. Notable rarities in this series are those with unique mint marks and special editions, such as 200th anniversary of America’s independence which featured a special reverse design. Source

The $200 Million Coin Collection

 

The Pogue Collection will likely be the most expensive coin collection ever sold at auction. The face value of the 681 coins? $969.14.

Then & Now- United States Mint

"Then & Now" Part 1: looks at the early years of the Mint, featuring 1940 documentary footage from the US National Archives​.

 

How to Start Your Coin Portfolio

When you start coin collecting, it’s best to focus initially on bullion value. Though investing in rare coins can be very profitable, it is more difficult to gauge what the collector market for a particular coin might look like five or ten years down the road. Investing in modern bullion coins, such as Canadian Maple Leaf silver coins and American Gold Eagles, is a great way to get started. These coins all contain high-grade gold or silver, making them excellent precious metal investments. At the same time, they’re also handsome coins, which is an important factor for any coin collector.

Some older coins can be good stores of bullion value as well, though in some cases there’s also some numismatic value involved in the price of the coins. For example, American quarters and dimes minted prior to 1965 contain 90 percent silver and are frequently purchased by coin investors for their metal content. Ordering a mixed bag of junk silver coins is a good way to fill out missing dates in your collection while simultaneously investing in silver metal.

Some coins, such as American silver dollars, exist somewhere on the borderline between being bullion investments and numismatic investments. These coins are common enough that they don’t have immense amounts of collector value, but at the same time, they sell for prices that are higher than their raw bullion value. These coins aren’t necessarily the best investments from a growth perspective, but they do hold their value reasonably well. Since coins that fall into this category tend to be older, they’re also a great deal of fun to collect for those who love the historical appeal of numismatics. Pre-1933 gold coins also fall into this category, though their bullion values are of course much higher than silver coins.

Finally, there are many coins that are predominantly numismatic investments. Though the bullion value of the metal is still factored into the overall price of these coins, their scarcity causes their collector value to make up the bulk of their final cost. If you wish to invest in coins predominantly for their collector values, it’s important to know exactly which coins will be most in demand among collectors.

Typically, rare dates and mint marks are two of the largest contributing factors to a coin’s numismatic value. Rare minting errors can also add to the value of a coin. If investing in coins purely for their numismatic value, it’s important to deal in certified coins only. Certified coins are those which have been inspected and graded by a recognized organization, then placed in a protective holder.

One last factor to keep in mind is that, contrary to popular belief, a coin doesn’t necessarily have to cost thousands of dollars to be a good investment on the basis of its numismatic value. One of the best examples of an affordable coin that is mostly valued as a collector piece is the 1950-D Jefferson nickel. Considered a key date and mint mark pairing, a 1950-D nickel can sell for $70 or more in uncirculated grades. Though extremely high compared to its face and bullion values, the numismatic value associated with this coin makes it reasonable for collectors on a budget. 

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