UNCIRCULATED

- A piece in new condition as issued by the mint. If it retains original lustre, it can be called "brilliant uncirculated"; otherwise, it must be described by a qualifying adjective like dull, part lustre, etc. If a given coin has evidence of handling, it is no longer uncirculated.

UNCOMMON

- A reference to the expected market unavailability of a particular coin in a specific grade. Uncommon coins are not regularly available from most dealer or collector sources. They become available one at a time usually over periods extending longer than one every six months or so. See Rare.

UNDERGRADED

- A coin that has been graded incorrectly (ie. too conservatively) according to traditionally accepted standards and may properly carry a higher grade than stated. A natural tendency of buyers is to undergrade the coins they are considering to buy.

UNDERPRICED

- A coin that has been priced lower than the marketplace suggests as a fair price. May be a result of the coin being undergraded and priced at this lower grade instead. Coins bought at these lower prices, if the grade is as advertised are "Steals."

UNDERRATED

- See Sleeper.

UNIFACE

- A numismatic item struck on one side only, intentionally or otherwise, the other side being blank.

UNIQUE

- An item of which only one specimen is known to exist.

UNPUBLISHED

- A numismatic item not previously documented or catalogued in numismatic literature.

UPGRADING

- A continuous process of improving a collection by replacing inferior condition (grade) coins with superior examples of the same coin.

UPSETTING

- Process a planchet goes through to have a rim put on it.

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