Collector glossary

An institution's identifier for an acquired object or accession. It identifies a collection specimen or accession, not automatically a type in a specialist catalogue.

Related: Provenance, Catalogue reference

An evidence-based assignment of an object to a maker, issuer, period or type. Attribute a source's claim clearly and retain uncertainty; attribution is not the same as authentication.

Related: Authentication, Provenance

Assessment of whether an individual object is genuine in the claimed context. Similarity to a photograph or catalogue description is not sufficient by itself.

Related: Attribution, Type

An identifier within a named reference work or system. Preserve the title, edition, volume and relevant issuing authority alongside the number; the number alone may be ambiguous.

Related: Accession number, Type

A documented sequence of possession or custody for an individual object. Preserve the supporting record for each event; gaps and attributed recollections are not a complete established history.

Related: Provenance, Attribution

A start and end bound expressing uncertainty or a production period. It should not be narrowed to a single year without evidence supporting that precision.

Related: Normalized date, Frozen date

A copy made from an original image for a purpose such as display, cropping or annotation. Preserve the original and record changes; a derivative is not an independent specimen photograph.

Related: Rights clearance, Condition report

A named dating period, such as a Japanese nengō or Chinese reign title, from whose start years are counted. Record both era and year; first and last years may be partial.

Related: Regnal year, Normalized date

A precise pointer to supporting evidence: a page, section, museum object identifier or passage. It lets another researcher inspect the basis of a claim rather than only its general source.

Related: Catalogue reference, Primary source

The place where an object was discovered or recovered. A documented findspot is context evidence; an undocumentated claim of one is not, and a findspot does not establish where an object was made.

Related: Provenance, Chain of custody

A date in the lunar Islamic calendar, counted AH. A Hijri year usually overlaps two Gregorian years; record the original date and give the equivalent as a range unless month and day are known.

Related: Regnal year, Normalized date

A release or defined production grouping under an issuing authority. Its boundaries must be specified by a source; a printed date alone does not always identify the issue or individual manufacture date.

Related: Denomination, Series

The ruler, government, bank, postal service or other body under whose authority an object was issued, recorded under its historical name. It is distinct from the mint, printer, find spot or holding museum.

Related: Successor state, Issue

A record of the characters actually visible on an object, kept separate from expansion, translation and proposed readings. Mark doubtful or unreadable areas explicitly.

Related: Legend, Inscription

An editorial date range in a common calendar used for comparison and filtering. It is kept separate from the original wording, with its conversion method stated.

Related: Date range, Hijri date

Evidence originating directly in the event, object or activity being researched, such as an original document or contemporary production record. Its relevance and limits still need assessment.

Related: Source independence, Evidence locator

The front face of a sheet or leaf in the stated description. Record the orientation and source convention; recto does not automatically correspond to a numismatic obverse.

Related: Verso, Obverse

A year counted from a ruler's accession. Conversion depends on the accession date and the issuer's counting convention, so equivalents should be attributed to a reference and often given as a range.

Related: Normalized date, Hijri date

Verification that the intended use of an image is permitted by its rights holder, a relevant licence or other applicable basis. Public accessibility and attribution alone do not grant permission.

Related: Image credit, Provenance

The person or organization entitled to grant the relevant image reuse permission. The owner or seller of the physical object is not necessarily the owner of the photograph's copyright.

Related: Rights clearance, Image credit

A numbering-system identifier associated with an individual object or component. Preserve prefixes, suffixes and leading zeros; a serial does not automatically establish a manufacture date without a documented lookup.

Related: Model, Accession number

The extent to which references supply evidence independently rather than repeat one underlying description. Multiple copied pages do not constitute multiple independent confirmations.

Related: Primary source, Attribution

One physical example used for examination or comparison. In banknote cataloguing, SPECIMEN may also denote a specially marked non-circulating example; do not confuse these senses.

Related: Type, Accession number

A state that replaced or claimed continuity from an earlier authority. Objects issued before the change stay under the earlier issuer; the relationship is recorded as context, not as reassignment.

Related: Issuing authority, Overprint

A defined grouping of objects sharing documented identifying features. Its scope depends on the discipline and reference system; one museum object does not alone establish every boundary of a type.

Related: Specimen, Variety

A recognised distinction within a broader type or issue under a specified reference system. Record the distinguishing feature and its source instead of treating any difference as a catalogued variety.

Related: Type, Catalogue reference

The reverse face of a sheet or leaf in the stated description. Back inscriptions and labels can be evidence, but concealed surfaces must remain unexamined rather than assumed blank.

Related: Recto, Reverse

The oscillating wheel that regulates a mechanical watch or clock. Its presence and form are observed only when the movement is legitimately visible; never open a sealed case to check.

Related: Escapement, Movement

A manufacturer's designation for a specific movement design, usually including its size and layout.

Related: Movement

Any function of a timepiece beyond the display of hours, minutes and seconds.

Related: Chronograph

The mechanism that releases the gear train in regulated steps and delivers impulse to the oscillator.

Related: Lever, Balance

A synthetic ruby or sapphire bearing used at high-friction points in a movement. A stated jewel count comes from the maker's documentation, not from counting through the case back.

Related: Movement, Calibre

The coiled spring storing energy in a mechanical movement. A watch that does not run may have a broken mainspring, but that is a workshop diagnosis, not a visual certainty.

Related: Movement, Condition report

A named product or design designation. For watches it is not interchangeable with the movement calibre; a replaced dial or case may obscure which model an object originally represented.

Related: Calibre, Serial number

The mechanism that drives a watch or clock. It is documented separately from the case and dial; a visible dial does not establish which movement is fitted inside.

Related: Calibre, Model

A mark intended to invalidate a stamp for further postal use. Its reading may document postal use, but does not by itself establish the stamp's printing date or authenticity.

Related: Issue, Overprint

A stamp issued to mark a specific event, person or anniversary, usually for a limited period. The occasion it marks is context, not evidence of scarcity or value.

Related: Definitive, Issue

A stamp issued for ordinary postal use over an extended period, often reprinted. Printings and shades within a definitive series require a specialised reference to distinguish.

Related: Commemorative, Issue

The adhesive applied to the back of a stamp. Its presence, disturbance or removal is condition evidence; never re-gum or soak a stamp to improve its appearance for the record.

Related: Condition report, Cancellation

Issued without perforations, requiring separation by cutting.

Related: Perforation

Additional printing applied to an already-issued stamp, often changing its use, country or value.

Related: Surcharge

The pattern of holes punched between stamps to allow separation, measured in holes per 2 centimetres.

Related: Imperforate

Envelopes, cards or wrappers sold with an imprinted stamp. The imprinted indicium is catalogued with the whole item; a cut-out is a different object with different evidence.

Related: Issue, Cancellation

A postal marking recording where or when an item was processed. It may coincide with a cancellation but serves a different purpose; transcribe its wording and date exactly as visible.

Related: Cancellation, Issue

The margin of a stamp sheet beyond the printed stamps. Inscriptions in the selvedge can document plate or printing information, but only when still attached to the stamp.

Related: Printer's imprint, Perforation

An overprint that alters the face value of a stamp.

Related: Overprint

A dated description of observed condition, recording locations and examination limits. It should distinguish visible damage from proposed causes and is not automatically a commercial grade.

Related: Treatment history, Documentation

Deterioration of a metal through interaction with its environment. Appearance alone does not diagnose ongoing activity; record observed changes and seek appropriate conservation assessment.

Related: Patina, Preventive conservation

A protective folder, sleeve, box or other housing. Its materials, fit and support must suit the object and media; an archival marketing label does not guarantee suitability.

Related: Preventive conservation, Condition report

Brownish spots appearing on paper, often associated with age, moisture or impurities. Record their extent and location; do not attempt removal, which can damage the paper and the evidence.

Related: Condition report, Preventive conservation

Environmental conditions within a localized space or enclosure. A sealed box or added desiccant does not guarantee appropriate conditions without assessment, monitoring and maintenance.

Related: Enclosure, Relative humidity

A combination of materials within one object, such as metal, leather, glass and paint in a camera. Storage or treatment suitable for one component may not suit the complete object.

Related: Substrate, Microclimate

A surface appearance or layer developed over time, as described in a specific context. Colour alone cannot establish its cause, stability, age or an object's authenticity.

Related: Corrosion, Condition report

Measures that reduce risks to collections, such as suitable storage, support, light control and handling practices, rather than direct remedial treatment of an object.

Related: Condition report, Enclosure

The ratio of water vapour present in air to the amount it can hold at the same temperature, expressed as a percentage. Appropriate collection conditions depend on materials and condition, not one universal target.

Related: Microclimate, Mixed materials

The supporting material beneath a coating, image or applied medium. An object's care needs depend on the support and the applied materials, not only its visible surface.

Related: Mixed materials, Preventive conservation

Colour change on a metal or paper surface over time. Toning is an observation, not a diagnosis: its cause, stability and effect on the object require assessment rather than assumption.

Related: Patina, Corrosion

Documented interventions such as repair or adhesive removal, attributed to records where available. A clean or bright appearance is not proof that an object has never been treated.

Related: Condition report, Provenance

A mark stamped onto an existing coin or note after its original production, usually by a later authority. Record both the host object and the countermark; the countermark does not reassign the original issuer.

Related: Overprint, Issuing authority

The nominal monetary unit assigned to an issue. It is distinct from metal content, purchasing power and present market value, and may require a reference when not stated on the object.

Related: Issue, Legend

The engraved metal tool that transfers a design to a planchet under pressure.

Related: Planchet, Die variety

Text or ornament applied to the edge of a coin or medal rather than its faces. Record it separately from the obverse and reverse, and photograph it only where the object can be supported safely.

Related: Legend, Obverse

The space beneath the main design on a coin, often separated by a line and used for a date or mint mark.

From Greek ex ergon, outside the work.

Related: Mint mark, Obverse

The flat background area of a coin or medal surrounding the raised design. Marks, scratches and polishing in the field are recorded as condition observations, not as design features.

Related: Relief, Legend

The proportion of precious metal in an alloy, expressed per thousand or in carats. Appearance cannot establish fineness; record it only from a documented reference or a stated assay.

Related: Hallmark, Denomination

A date retained on an issue across several years of production. The inscribed year then indicates the design or authorisation rather than the individual object's manufacture year.

Related: Date range, Issue

Lettering on a coin or medal, often arranged around a device. Record each face separately and preserve unreadable characters rather than completing a familiar phrase as fact.

Related: Obverse, Reverse, Literal transcription

The place or institution where a coin was struck, distinct from the authority that ordered the issue. A mint mark may identify it, but the mark's reading should be attributed to a reference.

Related: Mint mark, Issuing authority

A letter, symbol or monogram identifying the mint that struck a coin.

Related: Exergue

An object combining obverse and reverse designs that were not officially paired. Such a claim requires a documented reference; an unfamiliar pairing alone is not proof.

Related: Type, Variety

The principal face of a coin or medal, usually bearing the portrait or the primary authority of the issuer.

From Latin obversus, turned towards.

Related: Reverse, Exergue

The blank metal disc on which a coin is struck.

Related: Die

The raised portions of a struck or cast design above the field. High points of the relief wear first, so wear patterns there are condition evidence, not a different type.

Related: Field, Die

A coin struck from original dies at a date later than the original issue.

Related: Die

The secondary face of a coin or medal, opposite the obverse.

Related: Obverse

Fine repetitive engraved patterns used as decoration and as a security feature on banknotes. Pattern differences between printings are documented in specialised references, not by eye alone.

Related: Vignette, Watermark

Printed text or a mark naming a printer or other production participant. Copy its wording and position; it is not automatically the issuing authority's name.

Related: Literal transcription, Issue

A strip or thread embedded in banknote paper as a security feature. Note whether it is visible, windowed or printed imitation, but do not treat one feature as proof of authenticity.

Related: Watermark, Authentication

A grouping of note issues sharing a design programme or release period under an issuing authority. Its exact boundaries come from a reference, not from similar appearance.

Related: Issue, Denomination

The central pictorial design of a banknote, distinct from its frame and lettering. Describing the vignette helps comparison but does not by itself identify the issue.

Related: Issue, Printer's imprint

An official mark struck on precious metal to certify its fineness, and often its assay office and date.

Related: Maker's mark

The documented ownership history of an object.

Related: Attribution

A banknote printed to replace one spoiled in production, usually identifiable by a distinct prefix or a star in the serial number.

Related: Serial number prefix

A design formed in paper during manufacture by varying its thickness, visible in transmitted light.

Related: Security thread