Glossary - An Introduction to Coin Investing & Collecting

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K

Karat:

Measurement of purity used in showing the fineness of gold. One karat is 1/24 pure gold; 24-karat gold is pure, .999 fine.

Key date:

The opposite of common date. Coins with low mintages or with mintages having few survivors. (See "Rare," "Scarce.")