Walter Breen
obverse: Familiarly, the "heads" side of a coin. On U.S. coins not bearing a head, the side bearing the principal device is the obverse; on commemoratives, one has to follow tradition. Ant.: reverse.
old tenor: Obsolete coinage standard. Old tenor gold is that minted before June 30, 1834, after which the weight and fineness standards changed so that old tenor gold became worth more than face and was returned for melting. Old tenor silver is that minted before April 1853, after which the same thing happened. The antonym, new tenor, is in use only for Colonial paper currency.
"one-sided proof" A coin minted by normal proofing process except that the reverse die remained unpolished.
open collar: Type of collar (q.v.) which served to position the blank on the reverse die, but not to compress it edgewise, so that edge lettering or ornamentation would remain undisturbed. Ant.: close collar; q.v.
open 3: (1873) Later style of 3, the knobs small and distant. Ant.: closed 3, q.v. Made after the Coiner addressed a formal complaint about the closed 3.
original: 1) coin made in the year of its design, but of which restrikes (q.v.) might exist; so called to distinguish it from the latter. 2) prototype. Ant.: restrike, novodel.
original dies: 1) master dies, q.v.; 2) dies made for an original issue. In the former sense, ant.: working dies; in the latter sense, ant.: copy dies.
original set: Proof set as received from the mint, containing the identical specimens put together at the mint to make up the set. Ant.: assembled set (i.e, assembled by the collector in later years).
oroide: A brassy alloy used for making costume jewelry.
overdate: A date in which one digit has been repunched, at the mint, over a different digit, either for reasons of economy or in an attempt to rectify a blunder.
pattern: Proposed coin design not then adopted.
pedigree: Sequence of owners of a coin.
penny: 1/12 shilling = 1/240 pound sterling. Not to be confused with cent.
piece de caprice: Favor coin, generally of whimsical character, often a mule or simulated series coin. In practice readily recognized as impractical for production coinage.
piefort: Coin officially made in double or triple thickness - as a favor coin.
plain edge: Edge without lettering, reeding, or other ornamentation, as our current cents and nickels.
planchet: Same as blank; disc on which a design is to be stamped to make a coin.
portrait: Properly, the representation of an individual, as distinct from that of an idealized god(dess) or personification. In some instances, where the effigy of Ms. Liberty actually portrays a then-living individual (Anna Willess Williams, on the Morgan dollar; Teresa Cafarelli, on the Peace dollar; Doris Doscher, on the Liberty Standing quarter), the usage has to be the loser.
positional varieties: Those differing only in placement of dates and/or mintmarks, in dies otherwise completely hubbed.
pre-decimal series: Coins issued before adoption of the decimal system; usually Canadian, but could allude to Colonials and to British coins before the recent decimal division of the pound.
presentation pieces: Coins minted with unusual care, from new dies on carefully selected blanks, intended for presentation to visiting dignitaries or other VIPs, before the process of making proofs was standardized in 1817.
press: Engine for stamping dies onto blanks, or for hubbing dies.
pristine: New, never cleaned or handled. Ant. : hair lined , cleaned, etc.
production coinage: Coins intended for circulation; business strikes; ant.: proofs.
proof: 1) (n.) What this book is all about; special mintage for VIPs or collectors, given multiple impressions to bring up design details better than on production coins (ant., q.v.) and for long minted from burnished dies on burnished blanks. 2) (v., usually in -ing or -ed forms) To impart the special finishes to dies and blanks and/or to give the multiple impressions necessary to make proof coins.
proofing process: Collectively, the procedures used for making proof coins (q.v.); see Chapter I.
proof-only issue: A date or type issued with the proof sets or only in proof state, not for circulation; examples - 1873 2¢ and silver 3¢, 1877 nickel 3¢and 5¢, 1858 silver dollar, 1841 and 1863 quarter eagle, etc.
proof set: Set of proof coins of one date as issued from the mint.
punch: 1) (n.) Tool bearing a letter or numeral or ornament in relief, for sinking into a die blank. 2) (v.) To impart a letter, numeral, design element, etc., using such tools.
Puncheon: Relief model bearing a major design element such as a portrait or wreath or eagle, intended for sinking into a working die blank.
Pyx: Receptacle for sample coins from each production run, intended for annual testing by independent assay (the Trial of the Pyx) as proof that no debasement had been done.