Coin Dealer Pulls out a Shotgun…Roll

Those of us who have been collecting for many years can understand numismatic verbiage without much difficulty. But to others who are just entering the hobby, they might get a little confused with some of the verbiage that is used in the coin market.

For example, collectors are well aware of the 3 Legged Buffalo, but using this verbiage outside of numismatics might attract attention from animal rights groups. What about Wounded Eagle used on the 2000 Sacagawea Dollar variety or Speared Bison used on the 2005 Bison Nickels.

What about Misplaced Date, I mean, who loses their date? But in numismatics it's referring to the date on the coin such as the 1894 Indian Cent where a portion of the digits on the date were accidentally struck somewhere else.

Other terms that may be confusing are Punch on Breast, a new collector might wonder why anyone would ever punch a women there in the first place. Or did she just spill her drink? Or what about when a collector asks, may I see your Crack, like on a die crack, no comment on this one. Or, now I know what the coin dealers mean when they say, "I keep the good stuff outside the case." A coin dealer may suddenly also pull out a Shotgun Roll. But new collectors... don't be alarmed! In this case it is referring to paper rolls of coins that when filled look like shotgun rolls.

What about a Die Clash, does this mean they clash until someone dies? No, it actually refers to two coin dies that clash with one another when there is no coin in-between both coin dies.

What about a Sleeper, is that why my coin dealer doesn't answer my calls when I want to return a coin to him? I guess he's been sleeping all the time. Here it's referring to a coin which is underestimated or undervalued.

Or how about Re-Punched Date, a new collector might think that he or she was very upset at their date that they punched them more than once. But in reality, it is referring to a coin which had the date of the coin struck into the die more than once.

What about a Rim Nick? What do rims on cars have to do with coins?

Who is Stella?

These are just some of the nomenclatures used in numismatics but there are many, many more. For example, Morgan Dollars have their own nomenclatures such as the Spitting Eagle, or what about the Double Profile? Is that person living a double life? Or what about on Bust Coin varieties such as the Bearded Goddess.

Who ever said numismatics wasn't fun! What's your favorite numismatic term? Email me at [email protected].