U.S. Coin Price Guide Coin Collecting Currency Values

COIN COLLECTING DEFINITIONS STARTING WITH "A"

About Good: a grading term for a coin that is so badly worn that you can barely recognize the type and date.

About Uncirculated: a grading term used to describe a coin that is nearly new.

abrasion: light friction, a shallow scrape, or a mark on the surface of a coin.

abrasive: a harsh cleaning agent that destroys the surface of a coin.

accumulation: a disorganized pile of coins just waiting for a numismatist’s touch to turn it into a coin collection.

adjustment mark: scratches made when a file is used to lower the weight of a planchet before striking.

AGW (Actual Gold Weight) This refers to the amount of pure gold in a coin, medal or bar. Any alloys are part of the gross weight of a gold coin, but not part of the AGW.

album: a holder designed to store and display coins.

album friction Similar to album slide marks, though the friction may be only slight rubbing on the high points.
 
album slide marks Lines, usually parallel, imparted to the surface of a coin by the plastic “slide” of an album.
 
alloy: a blend of different metals.

Almost Uncirculated: another way of saying About Uncirculated.

altered coin: a coin that has been changed in any way to make it appear more valuable.

Aluminum Cents: aluminum cent was a one-cent coin proposed by the United States Mint in 1973.

American Numismatic Association: the leading organization for collectors of U.S. coins.

A.N.A.: abbreviation for the American Numismatic Association.

ANACS: a third-party grading service in Sidney, Ohio.

ancient: an old coin struck before Medieval times.

annealing: The heating of a die or planchet to soften the metal before preparation of the die or striking of the coin.

anvil die: The lower die, usually the reverse – although on some issues with striking problems, the obverse was employed as the lower die. Because of the physics of minting, the fixed lower-die impression is slightly better struck than the upper-die impression.

appraisal: an estimate of a coin’s worth.

artificial toning: fake colors on a coin that usually hide flaws.

attribute: a special characteristic of a coin or the act of identifying a coin.

attribution: the variety of a coin according to specialized reference works.

AU: abbreviation for About (or Almost) Uncirculated.

auction: a method of offering and selling coins to the highest bidder.

authentication: determining whether a coin is real or not.



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