Term | Explanation |
Adjusting | Making an overweight blank lighter by filing or cutting off some metal. French: ajuster, German: justieren, Dutch: justeren, Russian: юстировка, настройка. |
Alloy | Mixture of metals. French: alliage, German: Legierung, Dutch: legering, allooi , Russian: сплав. |
Ask price | Price asked for a good (e.g. precious metal). See also offer price. French: prix vendeur, German: Angebotspreis Dutch: Laatprijs, Russian: цена продавца. |
Biga | Chariot drawn by two animals, usually horses. See also quadriga. French: bige, German: Biga, Dutch: biga, Russian: колесница. |
Billon | Alloy looking like silver with low silver content or not containing silver e.g. copper with nickel or zinc. French: billon, German: Billon, Dutch: biljoen, Russian: биллон. |
Bimetallic | Coin with the centre in another metal than the outer ring. A few coin types are trimetallic. French: enchâssée, bicolore, German: bimetallisch, Dutch: tweemetalig, Russian: биметаллический. |
Bracteate | coins struck with one die on an extremely thin blank so that the reverse is an incuse mirror image of the obverse. The first bracteats appeared in Germany in the 12th century, but as late as the first world war, bracteate tokens were made in France. French: bractéate, German: Brakteat, Dutch: bracteaat, Russian: брактеат. |
Brockage | An error in the coin production where the coin has stuck to the die after being struck. The next blank will be struck normally on one side, but the other side will show the same design in intaglio. These coins are not mules. Dutch: Incusum, French: effet miroir, German: inkuse Prägung Russian: зеркальное отражение. |
Bronze disease | A pale blue-green powdery coating on bronze. It will destroy bronze, if not stopped. See also verdigris, tin pest, zinc pest. French: maladie de bronze, German: Bronzepest Dutch: bronsrot, Russian: бронзовая болезнь. |
Bust | Portrait with shoulders. See also head. French: buste, German: Büste Dutch: buste, Russian: бюст. |
Caduceus | Mercury's staff: a winged staff with two snakes. French: caducée, German: Caduceus, Merkurstab Dutch: mercuriusstaf, Russian: кадуцей. |
Cameo | North American usage only: milky white raised parts on shiny lower parts of a coin. See Proof. |
Cap | Also: die cap. Error caused by a broken collar. The die has shifted partly away from the flan, leaving a half-moon shaped blank area. Not to be confused with an ex-centric strike, where no collar is used and the die is simply slightly misplaced. Dutch: petje, French: coin bouchon, Russian: сдвиг штемпеля. |
Carat | See content. Dutch: karaat, French: carat, German: Karat, Russian: карат. |
Cartouche | French term for a small oval with text or picture - often a bust - within a larger part of the design. Dutch: cartouche, French: cartouche, German: Kartusche, Russian: картуш. |
Cast | A coin or medal produced by pouring molten metal into a mold. Found mostly in older East Asian coins as well as medals. The metal density of cast coins is lower than that of struck coins, producing a lower, duller sound. French: coulée, German: gegossen, Dutch: gegoten, Russian: литье. |
Cast and chased medal | hollow, open medal that has had retouching or detail added (chasing) after being cast. French: médaille repoussé et ciselé, German: Hohlmedaille, Dutch: Plaquette, Russian: полая литая медаль из двух спаянных между собой половинок. |
Christogramme | the Greek letters Chi and Rho, standing for Chr[istos]. French: christogramme, German: Christogramm Dutch: christogram, Russian: христограмма. |
Circulation coin | Coin that can at least in theory be used for payments and that is generally accepted. See also pseudo coins French: pièce destinée à la circulation, German: Kursmünze, Umlaufmünze, Dutch: Omloopsmunt, circulatiemunt , Russian: циркуляционные монеты, монеты для обращения ("ходячка"). |
Clad | See plated. |
Clipped planchet | Coin struck on an incomplete blank. This may occur when a blank is cut outside a sheet of metal (straight clip) or when the sheet is not moved sufficiently after a cutting operation and the next cut party overlaps the previous one (round clip). See also misstrike, German: Zainende Dutch: clip, Russian: обрезанная (усеченная) заготовка. |
Clipping | removing metal from the edge of a coin. Clipping was considered high treason. It was, howeer very profitable. As jewellers needed the equipment as well as the raw metal for their profession, they could clip coin with less risk. Therefore, they are often seen as the greatest clippers. See also edge inscription. French: rogner, German: beschneiden, Dutch: snoeien, Russian: отсечение, срезывание, обрезка. |
Coat of arms | Also: arms. The mark of a geographical entity or family. There are strict rules for teir composition, colours etc. The study of coats of arms is heraldry. Coins will often use the arms of the ruling family or, when there is no ruling family, the issuing territory. Some church leaders will use their family coat of arms, which may be equal to territorial arms. Arms may be crowned or supported. They may be halved, quartered or further subdivided. The first quarter is upper left, the second lower right, the third upper right and te fourth lower left. French: armoiries, German: Wappen, Dutch: wapen, Russian: герб. |
Coin | circulating means of payment, most often metallic. Often round. See also medal. French: pièce, German: Münze Dutch: munt, Russian: монета. |
Coin alignment | Coin or medal that has to be turned on its horizontal axis in order to see both sides correctly. See also medal alignment. German: Wendeprägung, Französische Prägung Dutch: Muntslag, Russian: монетная ориентация. |
Coin holder | Carton (often 5 by 5 centimeters) with central round holes, covered with clear plastic foil. The holder is folded in half and pasted around the coin so that the coin remains visible on both sides. French: carton à monnaie, German: Münzhalter, Münzrähmchen, Dutch: Munthouder, Russian: держатель для монеты, холдер. There are also round holders of two clear hard plastic parts that are screwed together (capsules). |
Coinage | The production of coins in a mint. French: monnayage, German: Prägezahl, Dutch: aanmunting, Russian: чеканка. |
Collar | die for the edge, also prevents expansion of the blank beyond a certain diameter. French: virole, Dutch: kraag, German: Kragen, Russian: воротник. A collar of several (usually three) parts (19th century) is a segmented collar. French: virole brisée Dutch: segmentkraag, Russian: сегментный воротник. |
Collecting field | Also: collecting theme, collecting interest. Definition of the collection. Popular collecting fields are the collectors' own country with or without former colonies, Roman coins and foreign coins. These fields can be further refined, e.g. by type, mint or date or the definition may be restricted e.g circulation coins only, final or end date or no commemoratives or no gold. A good definition is crucial for enjoying the hobby. Too wide and you lose interest, too narrow and you soon miss only pieces you cannot afford. German: Sammelgebiet, Dutch: Verzamelgebied, Russian: область (тема) коллекционирования. |
Commemorative coin | Coin struck for a special occasion. The design of commemorative coins differs from that of equivalent circulation coins. French: pièce commemorative, [/i], German: Gedenkmünze, Dutch: herdenkingsmunt, Russian: памятная монета. |
Condition | Also: grade. See this thread. German: Erhaltung(sgrad), Dutch: conditie, Russian: состояние. |
Content | Also: composition, fineness. The relative share of the prevalent metal. Gold content is often expressed in carat, 24 carat being pure silver. Silver content is expressed in parts of thousand, e.g 925 means a content of 92.5% (sterling silver). Pure gold and silver is practically impossible to obtain and too soft for coinage, so these metals are usually alloyed. Metal content of other metals is expressed in whole percentages. French: titre, German: Feingehalt Dutch: Gehalte, Russian: состав. |
Cornucopia | Horn with goods, usually including fruit, rolling out. Symbol of abundance, in particular of food. See this thread. French: corne d'abondance, German: Füllhorn, Dutch: hoorn des overvloeds, Russian: рог изобилия. |
Corrosion | Also: oxidation. Chemical reaction of metal with oxygen (e.g. rust). French: corrosion, German: Korrosion, Rost Dutch: corrosie, Russian: коррозия. |
Counter | Originally, a medal used to calculate on a calculating board. Calculating boards were standard equipment for accounting chambers. The medal represented a value, dependent on its place on the board (compare the Asian abacus). Counters slowly morphed into play money (e.g. for keeping scores at card games or for use on board games) after the introduction of Arabic numbers. French: jeton, Old French: gectoir, German: Rechenpfennig, Rechenmünze, Dutch: rekenpenning, Russian: жетон |
Counterfeit | Also: fake. Imitation of a real coin, meant to be circulated as real money. See also: forgery. French: faux, German: Fälschung, Dutch: vervalsing, Russian: подделка. |
Counterstamp | Small mark, often used to change the value of a coin or the area in which it could circulate. French: contremarque German: Gegenstempel Dutch: klop, Russian: надчекан. |
Crimping | Process of fusing the parts of a bimetallic coin. Crimping takes place while the coin is struck. French: sertissage, German: crimpen? Dutch: krimpen, Russian: опрессовка. |
Cross | On coins from the Middle Ages, the side bearing a cross. The cross was used for cutting coins in halves or quarters and as a visual check on whether the coin had been cut correctly. Older coins have a short cross, later types have a long cross, dividing the legend French: croix German: Kreuz Dutch: kruis, Russian: крест. |
Crowned | With crown above arms or on the portrait (bust or head). French: couronné, German: gekrönt Dutch: gekroond, Russian: увенчанный, коронованный. |
Cutting | 1. chopping a coin in two parts. 2. slicing a planchet from a roll of metal. See also cross. German: schneiden, zerschneiden, Dutch: Kappen, Russian: разрезка монеты на несколько частей, каждая из которых имеет хождение |