| New | Term for a coin that never has been in circulation. |
| New Orleans | The branch Mint established in 1838 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It struck coins for the United States until its seizure in 1861 by the Confederacy. (Some 1861-O half-dollars were struck after the seizure.) It reopened in 1879 and struck coins until 1909 (actually closed in 1910). Now this facility is a museum. |
| NGC | Acronym for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, located in Parsippany, NJ. Currently the leading coin grading service. |
| NGC Census Report | Quarterly publication issued by NGC listing the number of coins graded and their grade. |
| Nickel | Popular term for a five-cent piece. |
| No Arrows | Term applied to coins without arrows by their dates during years when other coins had arrows by the date. (i.e. 1853 Arrows and No Arrows half dimes.) |
| No Motto | Coins struck without the motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST”. |
| No Stars | Term referring to the Gobrecht-designed Liberty Seated coins without stars. |
| No “CENTS” nickel | Liberty Head nickels struck in 1883 without a denomination. The lack of a denomination was very confusing to the public and led to the “racketeer” nickel scandal. |
| | Also see: Racketeer nickel |
| No-grade | Term applied to a coin returned from a third-party grading service that was not encapsulated. This can be due to questionable authenticity, cleaning, damage, or other reasons. |
| Numerical grading | The Sheldon 1-70 scale employed by NGC, PCGS, and other third-party grading services. |
| Numismatics | The science of money. Coins, currency, tokens, inscribed bars, and all related items are numismatic. |
| Numismatist | One who studies or collects money. |
| O | Mintmark used to signify coins struck at the New Orleans, Louisiana branch Mint. |
| O-Mint | Term used for the coinage of the branch Mint in New Orleans, Louisiana. |
| Obverse | The front (heads side) of a coin. |
| Oct | Synonym for octagonal – the Pan-Pac octagonal commemorative fifty-dollar coin. |
| Off center | A coin struck on a blank that was not properly centered over the anvil, or lower, die. |
| Open collar | A device used to position a planchet over the lower die. It was employed specifically for striking early U.S. coins whose edges had already been stamped with reeding or lettering. |
| Orange-peel surfaces | Dimpled fields seen on many Proof gold coins, and some Mint State gold dollars and $3 gold coins. |
| Original | Referring to any aspect of a coin that retains its original state. Original toning means natural, not retoned or cleaned. Original lustre means undisturbed lustre that hasn't been enhanced through artificial methods. |
| Original roll | A roll of coins, all the same date, denomination, and mintmark, and usually of the same die variety, which seem to have been acquired by the same original owner, probably from the same original mint bag. Generally, all the coins in an original roll will have similar toning and lustre. |
| Original toning | Referring to a coin that has never been cleaned or dipped. Original toning ranges from a very mild yellow to extremely dark blues, grays, browns, and finally black. |
| Over -mintmark | A coin struck with a die on which one mintmark is engraved over a different mintmark. In rare instances, branch mints returned dies that already had mintmarks punched into them; on occasion, these were later sent to different branch mints and the new mint altered the die to add its mintmark over the old one. Examples include the 1944 D/S Lincoln Cent, and the 1949 D/S Jefferson Nickel. |
| Over dipped | A coin whose lustre has been dulled from too many baths in a dipping solution. |
| Overdate | A coin struck from a die with a date that has one year punched over a different year. |
| P-Mint | Synonym for the U.S. Mint located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
| Pan-Pac | Synonym for Panama-Pacific Exhibition. |
| Pan-Pac slug | Synonym for the round or octagonal 1915-dated Panama-Pacific fifty-dollar commemorative coins. |
| Panama-Pacific Exhibition | A 1915 exhibition held in San Francisco, California to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. |
| Paper money | Synonym for currency. |
| Patina | Synonym for toning. |
| Pattern | A test striking of a coin produced to trial a proposed design, composition, or size. Patterns were often struck in metals other than the one proposed. |
| PCGS Population Report | Monthly publication by PCGS listing the number of coins graded and their grade. |
| Peace dollar | Synonym for the silver dollar struck from 1921 to 1935. The Peace dollar was designed by Anthony Francisci to commemorate the peace following World War I. 1921 featured another coin designated High Relief. In 1922, the relief was lowered resulting in the Regular Relief type that was issued through 1935. |
| Pedigree | The listing of a coin's current owner plus all known previous owners. |
| Penny | Synonym for a one-cent U.S. coin. |
| Peripheral toning | Coloring – which may be light, medium, or dark - around the edge of a coin. |
| Philadelphia | The primary U.S. Mint located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was first established in 1792. |
| Pioneer gold | Privately issued gold coins struck prior to 1861. The term is generally associated with the private issues from California and the other post-1848 ore finds in Nevada, Oregon, and Colorado. |
| PL | Abbreviation for prooflike. |
| Plain edge | A smooth, flat edge seen mainly on a small-denomination coinage. |
| | Also see: Lettered edge, Reeded edge |
| Planchet | The blank metal disk, which becomes a coin when struck under high pressure between two dies. |
| | Also see: Blank |
| Planchet defect | Any defect of a coin which was caused by the planchet being imperfect prior to the coin being struck. Also see: Planchet flaw |
| Planchet flaw | An irregular hole in a coin blank, sometimes the result of a lamination that has broken away. |
| Planchet striations | Fine, incuse lines found on some Proof coins believed to be caused by polishing of the blanks prior to striking. Also see: Adjustment marks, Burnishing lines, Die striations, Roller marks |
| Plated | A coin with a thin layer of metal applied. For example, gold-plated copper strikings of certain U.S. pattern coins. |
| Platinum | A precious metal sometimes used for coinage. The only United States issues struck in platinum are the pattern half dollars of 1814 and modern platinum Eagles. |
| Plugged | Term used to describe a coin that has had a hole filled, often so expertly that it can be discerned only under magnification. |
| PNG certificate | A document (in duplicate: one for the coin owner and one kept on-file at PNG) completed by a PNG dealer that provided a guarantee of authenticity prior to third-party grading services. |
| PO | Abbreviation for Poor. (Also P). |
| Polished die | A die that has been basined to remove clash marks or other die injury. Dies used to strike Proof coins were polished to impart mirrorlike surfaces. |
| | Also see: Basining |
| Polyvinyl chloride | A somewhat active chemical found in some types of plastic coin flips. Polyvinyl Chloride will cause some coins to tone or turn green over time. |
| Poor | Synonym for the grade PO-1 (or P1). |
| Pop Report | Synonym for a report issued by NGC or PCGS, which summarizes the coins certified to date. |
| PQ | Acronym for premium quality. |
| PR | Abbreviation for Proof. |
| Premium quality | A term which describes the very finest coins that fall into any given grade, or that have some claims to a higher grade. |
| Presentation striking | A coin, often a Proof or an exceptionally sharp business strike, specially struck and given to a dignitary or other person. |
| Press | Any coining machine. |
| Price guide | A periodical listing prices for numismatic items. The guide might differentiate between buy and sell (Bid/Ask), as well as wholesale or retail prices. |
| Price list | Synonym for fixed price list |
| Pristine | Term describing coins in original, unimpaired condition. Pristine coins are typically graded MS/PR-67 and higher. |
| PCGS | Professional Coin Grading Service, a leading third-party coin grading service located in Newport Beach, California. |
| PNG | Professional Numismatists Guild, an organization of Numismatic dealers founded in 1955. |
| Proof | The term Proof denotes a method of manufacture, not a grade. Proof coins are made with special care, exclusively for collectors or investors and not struck for general circulation. Generally, proof coins are struck on specially selected and polished planchets. They are struck using polished dies. Usually the coins are made on a slower moving press, and/or are struck more than once. Most proof coins are brilliant, with a mirrorlike surface. |
| Proof set | A coin set containing Proof issues from a particular year. A few sets contain anomalies such as the 1804 dollar and eagle in 1834 presentation Proof sets. |
| Proof dies | Dies which are prepared and used exclusively to produce proof coins. Often, the fields of proof dies are highly polished to impart a mirrorlike finish, and the recessed areas are left unfinished to create frosted devices. |
| Proof-only issue | A coin struck only as a Proof, with no business-strike counterpart. |
| Prooflike | A coin that has mirror-like surfaces. This term is particularly applicable to Morgan dollars. |
| Provenance | Synonym for pedigree. |
| Punch | A steel rod with a device, a date, lettering, and other symbols on the end which was hammered into a working die. |
| Put-together roll | An “original roll” that has had the best coins removed and substituted with lesser quality coins. Also see: Original roll |
| PVC | Acronym for polyvinyl chloride. |
| PVC damage | A film, often green, left on a coin after storage in flips that contain PVC. During the early stage, this film may be clear and sticky. |
| PVC flip | Synonym for a coin flip that contains PVC. |
| Quarter | A U.S. coin of the quarter dollar denomination. |
| Quarter Eagle | Literally, one-fourth of an eagle, equal to a two-and-one-half dollar gold coin. The quarter eagle was first struck in 1796, struck sporadically thereafter, and was discontinued in 1929. |
| Questionable toning | Suspicious color on a coin that may not be natural. |
NumisMedia Glossary of Numismatic Terms
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