Precious Metals and Coin Glossary

This glossary defines the terms that come up when buying, grading, or selling United States gold and silver coins. Each entry has its own page, opens with a plain definition, and explains how the term is used in practice rather than only what it means in the abstract.

The vocabulary falls into a few groups. Pricing terms describe how a coin's cost relates to its metal: spot price, premium, troy ounce, and fineness. Grading terms describe condition and certification: the Sheldon scale, MS70, slab, certified coin, CAC, and first strike. Descriptive terms cover the coins themselves: obverse, reverse, mint mark, proof coin, bullion, and legal tender. The rest name specific coins and categories: Silver Eagle, Gold Eagle, Gold Buffalo, double eagle, and pre-1933 gold.

Terms are defined as US dealers and collectors actually use them. Where a term has a strict technical meaning and a looser everyday meaning — "bullion" and "certified" both do — the entry says so, because the difference occasionally matters in a transaction.

No entry quotes a price or assigns a value to a coin. Values change and grade is a judgment made in hand.

If a term you have run into is not here, or you want to know how it applies to a specific coin, call 855-344-2646 and ask.