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Message:: [QUOTE="Jaelus, post: 8103428, member: 46237"]There are multiple types of specimens. They can be a coin with special striking and handling and/or a special finish produced for collectors, that isn't a prooflike finish and isn't a proof (as with US SMS issues). They can be special presentation pieces prepared for a dignitary, for archiving by a government collection, or the like (as Doug mentioned). Another common use for specimen that hasn't been mentioned yet is that some countries will literally add the legend "specimen" in the language of the issuer on a coin or banknote to denote one of three things. First, that the coin has been prepared for testing purposes (as with an experimental planchet). Second, that the coin has been produced as a sample at request of another country, bank, or in some case, businesses. Third, that the coin has been produced as a special issue for the collector market. In all three of these cases, the specimen (as marked) is not considered legal tender. The above methodology is very common with banknotes as most countries produce specimen notes (including the US). Specimen notes of this type are typically overprinted or punched with the word specimen, and also typically have a special serial number that is either all zeros, a specific placeholder sequence (like 1234567890), or are numbered sequentially.[/QUOTE]