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| COIN COLLECTING DEFINITIONS STARTING WITH "D" |
D: the mintmark of the U.S. Mints at Denver, Colorado and Dahlonega, Georgia.
D-Mint: abbreviation for coins struck at the Denver or Dahlonega Mints.
Dahlonega: the official U.S. Mint at Dahlonega, Georgia that struck gold coins from 1838 to 1861.
damage: any defects or problems that affect a coin after it is struck.
date: the year in which a coin is struck.
dealer: a person who buys and sells coins, hopefully at a profit.
Deep Cameo: a coin that shows heavy contrast between the frosted devices and the mirrored fields.
Deep Mirror Prooflike: a coin struck for circulation that has extremely reflective surfaces. You can see yourself in these impressive little beauties.
denomination: the face value of a coin, as stated on the coin. Examples: denominations include Half Dollars, $2.50 gold, Three Cents, etc.
denticles: the tooth-like outer borders on some coins.
Denver: the official U.S. Mint at Denver, Colorado that struck coins from 1906 until today.
design: the art and lettering that appear on coins.
design type: the name given to the design on a particular U.S. coin.
designation: specific attributes of a coin or series
designer: the person who creates the design of a coin. He/she may also be the engraver.
device: any of the design elements on a coin.
die: the steel cylinder with a design on it used to strike one side of a coin.
die break: a fracture in a die that can range from a small crack to sinking of a major portion of the die.
die crack: fine lines of raised metal that are transferred to a coin when the die cracks under pressure.
die rust: dies are made of steel and occasionally rust, causing pits in the die and raised bumps of metal on the coins struck from those dies.
die state: the status of a die relative to wear, breaks, and condition.
die variety: every die is unique, especially early U.S. dies engraved by hand. A die variety is a unique combination of obverse and reverse dies. Some die varieties can be extremely rare.
Dime: U.S. coin with a face value of Ten Cents.
ding: a small mark on the surface or edge of a coin.
dip: to clean a coin in a chemical bath to remove toning.
disme: early spelling of “Dime,” pronunciation believed to be “Deem” (from the French).
DMPL: abbreviation for Deep Mirror Prooflike (used by PCGS).
doctored: a coin that has been cleaned, altered, repaired, or otherwise “improved” to make it more valuable.
dollar: an official U.S. denomination equal to 100 Cents or 1/10 of an Eagle.
Double Eagle: official name for a $20 gold piece.
doubled die: a die or coin on which the details appear doubled.
double-struck: a coin that has been struck twice from the dies.
DPL: abbreviation for Deep Proof Like (used by NGC).
Draped Bust: design type used on many U.S. coins from 1795-1807.
dull: drab, usually referring to the lack of luster.
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