CAM and DCAM (cameo and deep cameo)

How to read it

On a traditional proof the fields are polished to a mirror and the design is left frosted. NGC explains that the frost comes from the die: its fields are polished to a brilliant finish while the design is left untouched or sandblasted to a matte finish, and as the die is used over and over the effect can fade. The designation records how much frost there is. PCGS applies cameo to proofs whose frosted devices and lettering contrast with the fields, and deep cameo to deeply frosted ones, often called black and white cameos. Both sides count. PCGS says both obverse and reverse must show frost for a cameo, and that a coin with deep cameo frost on one side and cameo on the other is a cameo. CAC Grading's CAM allows some shadowy areas of lighter frost, and its DCAM allows no dark shadowing as the coin is tilted in and out of the light. NGC gives no designation where there is little or no frost.

Also searched as: CAM, DCAM, deep cameo, ultra cameo.

Deep cameo and ultra cameo

They are the same grade under different names. NGC calls its top level Ultra Cameo and says it is generally synonymous with deep cameo; PCGS and CAC Grading print DCAM. NGC ranks ultra cameo above cameo, and cameo above no designation.

Proofs only

NGC applies Cameo and Ultra Cameo only to proof coins, and not to reverse proofs, whose frost and mirror are swapped. PCGS's glossary describes its CAM and DCAM standards for proofs from 1950 on. A circulation coin with mirrored fields is graded prooflike instead.