CS2 skin glossary: from FN to ST, forty words explained

CS2 trading has its own language, and new arrivals at the station often hear five abbreviations before breakfast. This glossary covers forty terms, grouped by topic, in plain language. Keep it handy, like a field guide in a parka pocket.

Wear and float

Term	Meaning
Float	A number between 0 and 1 that decides how worn a skin’s paint looks. Lower is cleaner. It never changes.
Factory New (FN)	Float 0.00 to 0.07. The cleanest wear.
Minimal Wear (MW)	Float 0.07 to 0.15. Light marks, often hard to spot.
Field-Tested (FT)	Float 0.15 to 0.38. The widest middle band.
Well-Worn (WW)	Float 0.38 to 0.45. Clearly used.
Battle-Scarred (BS)	Float 0.45 to 1.00. Heavy wear.
Finish range	The float range a particular finish can have. Many finishes do not cover the full scale.
Low float	A float near the bottom of its wear band or finish range, usually sought for a cleaner look.

Item labels and rarity

Term	Meaning
StatTrak™ (ST)	A version of an item with a counter that tracks kills made by its owner.
Souvenir	An item from a Major souvenir package, with tournament stickers already applied. It cannot also be StatTrak.
★ (star)	Marks knives and gloves, the rare special items.
Rarity	An item’s grade, shown by colour. Standard weapon skins run from Consumer Grade up to Covert.
Covert	The highest standard rarity for weapon skins, shown in red.
Contraband	A rarity held by the M4A4 \| Howl, which was removed from its case.
Collection	A themed set of skins. Each skin belongs to one.
Case	A container with skins from a collection, opened with a key.

Finishes and patterns

Term	Meaning
Finish	The paint job or design on an item, the “skin” itself.
Pattern seed	A number that decides how a finish is placed on the item. Same float, different seed, different look.
Fade	A finish that blends colours across the item, with the blend set by the seed.
Fade percentage	A community measure of how much of the fade colours are visible.
Doppler	A knife finish that comes in phases, plus rare gem variants.
Phase	A Doppler colour variant: Phases 1 to 4, Ruby, Sapphire and Black Pearl. Gamma Doppler’s gem is Emerald.
Case Hardened	A blue, gold and purple finish whose layout depends entirely on the seed.
Blue gem	A Case Hardened pattern with exceptional blue coverage. Highly prized.

Trading and Steam

Term	Meaning
Trade URL	A personal link that lets someone send you a trade offer. It is all the station needs.
Trade offer	A proposed trade on Steam that you can accept or decline.
Steam Guard	Steam’s account protection, by email or by mobile app.
Mobile Authenticator	The Steam Guard mode in the Steam app. Generates codes and confirms trades.
Trade hold	A delay Steam may apply before traded items are delivered, for example without the Mobile Authenticator.
Trade cooldown	A period after which an item becomes tradable. Steam shows the date in your inventory.
Bot	An automated Steam account that sends trade offers. Ours sends the exact item you bought.
Inspect	Viewing an item in 3D in CS2 to see its wear and pattern.
Sticker	A decal applied to a weapon. Stickers can be scraped; the weapon’s float stays the same.
Name tag	An item that gives a weapon a custom name.

Station words

Term	Meaning
Base camp	Your PenguinSkins account area, with your orders and saved trade URL.
Ice core bar	The bar on each listing showing the item’s float and its finish range.
Order status	Order placed, Payment confirmed, Trade offer sent, Delivered. Visible in Base camp → Orders.
FIRSTFREEZE	A coupon code worth 5% off your first order.
Field notes	This blog: guides, safety notes and station news.
Colony	The station’s fictional penguin mascots, and, loosely, everyone who trades here.

One term you will never need here: your password. The store only needs your trade URL, never your login, Steam Guard codes or API key.