In some cases, terms are considered only in their relationship to money and coinage. Some definitions are taken from the Oxford English Dictionary, 2d edition (OED).
billon. An alloy of silver and copper in which the share of silver is less than 50%.
brassage. Fee charged by the mint operator to cover production costs (excluding the price of metal).
brocard. An elementary principle or maxim (OED).
bullion. Uncoined metal.
coin. a. A die used to stamp a design on a metal disk; b. a metal disk so stamped.
convertible. Currency that can be exchanged or converted into another currency, usually upon demand at a fixed rate.
counterfeit. Imitation of a coin produced by an official mint. See duplication.
cours forcé. French, literally “forced circulation.” Said of a currency that is both inconvertible and legal tender (Nussbaum 1950, 58). See legal tender, fiat.
cry-down. A lowering of the face value of a coin.
cry-up. A raising of the face value of a coin.
debasement. A lowering of the intrinsic content of a coin or currency. See inflation.
decry. To withdraw a coin from use as money.
duplication. Making a coin that is not, but is materially identical to, a coin produced by the official mint.
face value. Legal tender value of a particular coin, or its official value in terms of other coins. Values were not inscribed on the faces of coins until the late sixteenth century.
fiat. (Latin phrase meaning “let it be done,” with which kings signed orders). Command or decree. Fiat money: money with cours forcé. Intrinsically worthless money with positive market value.
fiduciary. Not full-bodied. See also overvalued.
fractional. Of lower denominations. In the U.S., coins or notes smaller than $1. Traditionally, coins made of silver were called subsidiary, and those made of copper or bronze were called minor.
full-bodied. Said of a coin whose metallic content is worth as much as the face value or market value (net of production costs in some definitions).
ghost money. Not a coin but a unit of account representing a fixed number, greater than one, of a particular coin.
glossarist. One who writes glosses; one who compiles a glossary (OED).
glossator. A writer of glosses; particularly, medieval commentators who wrote glosses on the texts of Roman and canon law (OED).
imaginary money. See unit of account.
inflation. A fall in the value of money.
intrinsic. Intrinsic content, the metal contained in a coin. Intrinsic value, the value of a coin’s intrinsic content.
legal tender. That which cannot be refused by a creditor when tendered by a debtor to fulfill an existing obligation.
mint equivalent. Value (in units of account or number of coins) of a unit of weight of coined metal.
mint price. Price (in units of account or number of coins) paid by the mint for a unit of weight of metal.
nominalism. The doctrine that all coins are legal tender at their face value.
obsidional. Of coins struck in a besieged city to supply the want of current coins (OED).
overvalued. Taken for more than its intrinsic value.
penny. a. a coin (plural “pennies”); b. a unit of account (plural “pence”).
promissory. Containing or implying a promise of redemption.
reinforcement. A raising of the intrinsic content of a coin or currency. Sometimes called currency reform.
seigniorage. Fee charged on the coining of money to cover production costs and to provide revenue to the king. Also, profit earned by the monetary authority from the issue of currency.
subsidiary. Of lower denominations. In the U.S., fiduciary silver coins below $1.
tale. a. A recounting of events. b. A counting of objects. By tale: by number, as determined by counting rather than by weighing.
token. A stamped piece of metal, often coin, issued as a medium of exchange by a private person or company who promises to exchange it for its nominal value for goods or legal currency (OED).
token money. State coinage of money not having the intrinsic value for which it is current, but bearing a fixed value relative to gold coin, for which it is exchangeable (OED).
underweight. Below its normal or legal weight.
unit of account. A unit in which accounts are kept; a particular coin (or a number of particular coins) in terms of whose value sums of money are expressed.
weight (by). See tale.