PR or PF (proof)

How to read it

The ANA puts it plainly: proof is a type of manufacturing process that gives coins made for collectors a special surface or finish, and it is not a grade. PCGS describes a proof as usually struck from a specially prepared die on a specially prepared planchet (blank), usually more than once and at slower speed and higher pressure, so that proofs show much sharper detail than business strikes. A traditional proof, in NGC's description, has frosted devices (the raised design) and mirrored fields (the flat background). Most proofs grade from 60 to 70, but CAC Grading notes that some entered circulation and can take any grade down to poor, and NGC keeps the PF prefix below 60: a proof graded 50 is PF 50, where a circulation coin would be AU 50. The contrast between frost and mirror is graded separately, as cameo or deep cameo.

Also searched as: PF 70, PR 69, proof coin.

PR at PCGS, PF at NGC

The two prefixes mean the same thing. PCGS and CAC Grading print PR on their labels; NGC prints PF. PCGS recognizes proofs as coins struck in 1817 and later, and labels the special coins struck from 1792 to 1816 as specimens, SP. NGC also uses SP, for coins that fall short of the definition of a proof but are clearly better than normal currency issues.

Reverse and enhanced proofs

On a reverse proof the design is mirrored and the fields frosted, the opposite of a traditional proof. NGC says the US Mint first issued one in 2006, for the 20th anniversary of the gold and silver eagle program, and labels these coins REVERSE PF; enhanced reverse proofs, with selective frosting on the design, are ENHANCED REV PF. NGC gives no cameo designation to reverse proofs.

Where US proofs are struck

The ANA says proof and special collector coins are made at the San Francisco Mint, whose mark is S, and the West Point Mint, whose mark is W.