A unit of measurement describing a width or thickness of 1/100 of an inch, usually referring to the thickness of metal plating on a medal or coin.
A resource for collectors
Glossary of Numismatics and Notaphily
95 coin and banknote terms — design, production, issuing, conservation, and collecting — that appear throughout the Notofilia catalog, with the Spanish equivalent and a short definition.
Showing all 95 glossary terms.
Areas of a coin where contact with another coin or a foreign object has physically displaced or abraded metal on its surface.
See also: Bag Marks
A random grouping of a particular date, type, or series, often denoting a monetary hoard rather than a systematic collection.
File marks made on a coin planchet before striking, used to bring its weight down to the legally prescribed standard.
See also: Coin blank , Assayer
Lines, frequently parallel, imparted to a coin's surface by the friction of a plastic slide inside a storage album.
A banknote chemically or physically modified to appear rarer, more valuable, or in better condition than it actually is.
See also: EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality)
Cleaning, tooling, dipping, or other chemical and physical modifications that mask flaws and make a coin less desirable to advanced numismatists.
A general classification for historical world coins struck from approximately 600 B.C. through the fall of antiquity around 450 A.D.
Said of a coin or medal whose design entirely lacks inscriptions, lettering, or legends.
See also: Legend
The controlled heating-and-cooling process applied to a coin die or planchet to soften the metal's structure before die preparation or striking.
See also: Planchet
An item evaluated by an expert, certified as authentic, and explicitly graded according to established industry standards.
A paper fold or wrinkle created during a banknote's manufacturing, rather than from later circulation or handling.
The mint official responsible for analyzing and certifying the purity of the precious metals used in coinage.
See also: Adjustment Marks
Minor dings and surface nicks acquired by uncirculated coins as they clash against each other inside cloth transit bags at the mint.
See also: Abrasions
The lowest possible condition grade, where a coin is identifiable only by its major design type, date, or mintmark, with maximum wear. Also known as Poor (PO-1).
See also: Sheldon Scale
A document acknowledging a debt or payment obligation to whoever physically holds it, with no named holder required.
See also: Floating debt note , Mortgage bond / certificate
An alloy containing a low percentage of silver (typically under 50%), with the remainder mostly copper.
The decorative frame — usually fine geometric linework — that borders a banknote's design.
See also: Guilloche
A bundle of newly printed banknotes, typically containing 1,000 sequentially numbered pieces.
See also: Strap
A generic term for a coin that has never entered circulation, fully retaining its original frosty cartwheel or mirror-like luster without tarnish or friction.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC)
A translucent opening in a polymer or hybrid banknote, often bearing a silhouette or motif in optical relief.
A country or entity's official heraldic emblem, often included as a mark of institutional authenticity.
A crude, hand-struck silver or gold coin produced at Spanish colonial mints by cutting slices from a refined metal bar.
See also: Coin blank
The raw metal disk, also called a planchet or blank, prepared and weighed before being struck between dies.
See also: Planchet , Adjustment Marks
A note produced in limited quantity to mark an event, anniversary, or historical milestone, rather than for ordinary daily circulation.
A Military Payment Certificate conversion day: bases closed without notice and troops exchanged the current series for the new one. The outgoing series became worthless overnight, so neither personnel nor the black market could stockpile it.
See also: Demonetized
An official mark applied over an existing note or coin to revalidate it under a new authority or circulation period.
See also: Overprint
Said of a note that has lost its legal-tender status and can no longer be redeemed or used as everyday payment.
See also: Legal tender
The specific combination of an obverse die and a reverse die used to strike a particular coin variety.
An ancient silver coin denomination originating in Greece, which later influenced numerous regional currencies.
The monetary unit of Swaziland (Eswatini); singular “Lilangeni,” plural “Emalangeni.”
A grading designation used by PMG to denote a banknote that is entirely original and has not undergone chemical, physical, or cosmetic modification.
See also: Altered Note , Uncirculated (UNC)
Numismatic-adjacent collectibles that are not legal-tender coins or notes, such as tokens or private scrip.
See also: Bearer note
A high condition grade allowing very light folds while keeping crispness and color nearly intact.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC)
A highly collectible serial number layout, such as radars (palindromes), solids, low numbers, repeaters, or ladders.
See also: Serial numbering , Radar Note
A short-term debt certificate issued by a public treasury, often resulting from the conversion of prior credits, bearing no interest.
See also: Bearer note
Paper currency issued in denominations valued at less than one basic unit of the national monetary standard, such as cents.
A period or regime in which multiple private banks are authorized to issue their own circulating notes, absent a single central bank.
See also: Issuing bank / authority
A reference system specialized in United States banknotes, an alternative and complement to the Pick catalog.
See also: Pick number
A precision pattern of interlacing curved lines, used both decoratively and as an anti-counterfeiting device.
See also: Border / frame , Rosette
A composite material combining cotton-paper layers with polymer elements or windows, aiming for plastic durability with traditional paper feel.
A relief printing technique where ink sits in grooves engraved into a plate, leaving a tactile texture on the finished note.
See also: Steel/copper engraving
Ink containing reflective particles that produces a shifting or metallic sheen when the note is tilted.
See also: Optically variable device (OVD)
The entity — central bank, private bank, or state authority — legally empowered to put a banknote into circulation.
See also: Legal tender , Free banking
A historical fractional coin denomination of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, traditionally representing 1/100th of a ruble.
The monetary unit of Zambia and Malawi; the name means “dawn” in several Bantu languages.
The status of a note or coin as compulsorily acceptable payment within a given territory.
See also: Demonetized
The primary textual inscription running along the outer edge or border of a coin or medal.
See also: Anepigraphic
The monetary unit of Romania; singular “Leu,” plural “Lei.”
A flat-plate printing technique based on the repulsion of grease and water, historically used by regional print houses to issue notes and scrip.
Text printed at extremely small scale, legible only under magnification, used as an anti-counterfeiting measure.
A debt instrument backed by real-estate mortgages, authorized to circulate with fiduciary force under a specific legal framework.
See also: Bearer note
A banknote that accidentally displays mismatched printing-plate features; in small-size notes, produced when a face plate with a micro plate number is paired with a back plate showing a macro plate number.
See also: Printing error
The branch of numismatics focused specifically on collecting paper banknotes.
See also: Numismatics
The discipline that studies coins, banknotes, and medals — their history, artistry, and collector value.
See also: Notaphily
Also called Broken Bank Notes; currency issued by private, state-chartered banks or local communities before the establishment of the Federal Reserve system.
See also: Free banking
The front face of a banknote, usually bearing the main portrait or motif and the issuing bank's name.
See also: Reverse
A security feature printed with reflective inks or foils that shifts color or appearance depending on the viewing angle.
See also: Iridescent / metallic ink
Additional text or stamp printed over an already-existing note or document to alter its value, validity, or jurisdiction.
See also: Countermark
A historic monetary unit meaning "weight" (from the Latin pensum) that gives its name to eight national currencies still in circulation today, each with its own ISO code, symbol, and market value: the Argentine peso (ARS, $), Chilean peso (CLP, $), Colombian peso (COP, $), Cuban peso (CUP, $), Dominican peso (DOP, RD$), Mexican peso (MXN, $), Philippine peso or piso (PHP, ₱), and Uruguayan peso (UYU, $).
See also: Real
The standard reference number assigned to each note in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, used universally by collectors to identify variants.
See also: Friedberg catalog
The blank metal disk, prepared with upset rims, that is loaded into a coining press to be struck with a design.
See also: Coin blank
A plastic substrate — commonly biaxially oriented polypropylene — used in banknotes for its durability and counterfeit resistance.
An engraved likeness of a historical figure or ruler, the central element on most banknotes.
See also: Vignette
A note that left the printer with an unintentional defect — off-center cut, paper fold, missing color — usually valued above a normal example.
An emergency, temporary-circulation issue produced to cover a currency shortage while a definitive issue is prepared.
See also: Floating debt note
The monetary unit of Guatemala, named after the country's national bird.
A collectible banknote featuring a serial number that reads the same backward as forward (a palindromic number).
See also: Fancy Serial Number
An old monetary unit of the Spanish Empire, a subdivision of the peso through much of the colonial period.
See also: Peso
The decorative or ridged edge design applied to a coin to prevent clipping or illegal shaving of its metal.
A note printed to replace a defective example pulled from the print run, identifiable by a special symbol in its serial number.
See also: Printing error
The back face of a banknote, typically showing a building, landscape, or secondary scene.
See also: Obverse
The monetary unit of Malaysia and, under the same historical name, of Brunei.
A circular geometric motif, often with the numeral value at its center, common on 19th-century private-bank notes.
See also: Guilloche
The study and collecting of historical financial securities, specifically stock certificates, bonds, and share warrants.
See also: Numismatics , Notaphily
A strip or filament embedded in the note's substrate, either visible or with exposed windows, used to deter counterfeiting.
See also: Substrate
A security design in which elements printed on both sides of the note align exactly when held up to light.
See also: Watermark
The unique digits — sometimes with a letter prefix — stamped on a note for individual tracking and identification.
See also: Series
In notaphily this can mean either the print run tied to an issue date or the letter prefix of the serial number; the exact sense depends on context.
See also: Serial numbering
The standard 70-point numerical system used in numismatics to grade the physical wear and preservation state of a coin.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC) , Extremely Fine (EF)
The printed signature of an authorizing official (governor, finance minister, etc.) that validates the note's issuance.
See also: Issuing bank / authority
A note or certificate issued by a federal state with its own fiscal autonomy within a federated republic, rather than by the central government.
See also: Free banking
A sample copy of a note, overprinted and zero-numbered, produced for archival or internal bank use and never released into circulation.
See also: Issuing bank / authority
A hand-engraving technique on a steel or copper plate, used to produce highly detailed portraits and vignettes on classic banknotes.
See also: Intaglio printing , Vignette
A paper band used to bundle exactly 100 banknotes of the same denomination.
See also: Brick
The base material a banknote is printed on: cotton paper, pure polymer, or a hybrid combination of both.
See also: Polymer , Hybrid substrate
The monetary unit of Samoa, derived from the German term “Thaler.”
The monetary unit of Kazakhstan since 1993.
Natural coloration that forms on a coin's surface over time due to chemical reactions with air and storage materials.
A synthetic non-woven material used experimentally in some of the earliest plastic banknote issues of the 1980s.
See also: Polymer
The highest condition grade: a note with no folds, stains, or wear, exactly as it left the printer.
Ink invisible in normal light that glows under ultraviolet light, used to help verify a note's authenticity.
An engraved or printed illustration — a portrait, scene, or motif — occupying a defined area of a banknote's design.
See also: Portrait , Steel/copper engraving
An image or pattern embedded in the paper or substrate, visible mainly when held up to light, used as a security measure.
See also: See-through register
Experimental currency produced by the BEP between 1992 and 1995 using a continuous roll-fed web intaglio press instead of flat sheets, identifiable by relocated plate-numbering positions.
See also: Intaglio printing
We didn’t find terms for “”.
Terms marked as suggested complement the vocabulary already used in the catalog with standard words from international collecting.