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The Coin
Collecting Dictionary
Welcome to the Coin Collecting Dictionary. Here you will find the
terms, definitions, etc. that are unique to our
beloved hobby. Simply click on the letter
below to bring you to all the terms and
definitions for that letter.
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A
B
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F G
H I J K L
M N
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P Q R S
T U V
W X
Y Z
B
Bag Marks
The
marks that are left on coins has they come in
contact with each other in
mint bags. For example, a mark can
occur when the edge of a coin comes into contact
with the surface of another coin. As coins
are dumped into the bag during the production
process they will slam into each other in
various ways. The weight of the bag and
jostling of the bag during production and
subsequent handling and shipping can cause
little to severe marks on a coin. These
marks are most common on larger coins such as
half dollars and large dollar coins as well as
gold coins due to their weight. This is
not to say smaller coins do not have the.
They in fact do. They are just not as
noticeable and/or prevalent. Uncirculated
Morgan Dollars are well known for bag marks.
Bar
A bar
usually an "ingot" shaped as a rectangle. It can
be gold, silver, or any precious metal. A bar of
precious metal make it convenient for transport
and/or storage. Gold and silver bars vary
in size from 1 gram up to thousands of ounces.
Barber Coinage
Coins
designed by Charles Barber are typically
referred to as Barber coinage. This
includes the Barber Dime, the Barber Quarter and
the Barber Half Dollar. Barber also
designed the Liberty Nickel.
Billon
An alloy of a precious metal with silver, but
also gold, where the majority base metal
content is copper
Bit
A bit refers to one-eighth of a Spanish 8
Reales “Piece of Eight. Two bits equal a
quarter. In the early history of the US,
US coinage was scare and Spanish dollars were
the widest circulating coin. The Spanish
dollar was seen as being equivalent to a US
dollar. In order to create smaller
denominations, the Spanish dollar was cut into
eights, or 'bits'. Because there was no one-bit
coin, a dime (10 ˘) was sometimes called a short
bit and 15c a long bit.
Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878
Act
passed over President Rutherford B. Hayes's veto
mandated that the Treasury Department buy
$2,000,000 to $4,000,000 worth of silver bullion
and that the bullion be converted into standard
silver dollars (412.5 grains consisting of 90%
silver and 10% copper). These dollar coins were
the
Morgan Dollars. See
History of the Morgan Dollar.
Blank
A
cutout piece of metal suhc as gold, silver or
copper, that a design will be stamped on which
then becomes a coin.
Blemish
A
term used to describe problems on the surface of
a coin. this could be a spot, scratch,
flaw, discoloration, etc.
Blue Book
The
Blue Book is a book that comes out annually that
contains the suggested dealer buying prices for
US coins. The book has a blue colver.
Blue Sheet
Also
known as the Certified Coin Dealer Network, it
is a weekly guide that reports on the
"sight-unseen" market for coins graded by
grading services.
Body Bag
Used
to describe the package that a coin that was not
graded due to damage or cleaning comes back in.
Bourse
The
room where coin dealers gather to buy and sell
coins.
Branch Mint
The
term used to describe any US mint other than
Philadelphia. Current branch mints are San
Francisco and Denver.
Brilliant Uncirculated (BU)
Term
used in the grading of coins. BU is
assigned to coins that are uncirculated, bright
untoned coins. Often overused and/or abused to
describe lesser quality uncirculated coins.
Brockage
A
coin that has been misstruck generally showing
the normal design on one side and then the same
design on the opposite side which is over the
proper design.
Bronze
An
alloy of copper, zinc and tin. Used mostly
in the cent.
Brown
The
color to describe a copper coin that no longer
has the "red" mint color'
Brown and Dunn (B&D)
A
once popular grading guide. The book, A
Guide to the Grading of United States Coins
by Martin R. Brown and John W. Dunn.
Buffing
The
process of polishing of a coin, sometimes with
an abrasive that leaves a finish that attempts
to re-create mint luster. A buffed coin often is
worth less than one that has not been cleaned.
See
whizzed.
Bullion
A
precious metal in an uncoined state usually in
ingots or bars
Business Strike
The
term used to describe coins produced for every
day use. These are the coins put into
circulation.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Unites States government agency that produces
paper money that is used in our banking system.
Also known as the BEP, this agency is
responsible for the printing our our national
currency.
Buyer’s Fee
Buyers Fee is the premium charged to a
successful bidder at auction, added to the
hammer price (final bid) of each lot. This is
typically 15% but can vary.
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