Clean Price

Clean price is how bonds are quoted in most markets — it's the price stripped of accrued interest. This convention exists because a bond's full value oscillates between coupon payments (rising as interest accrues, then dropping when a coupon is paid). By quoting clean prices, you can compare bonds fairly without worrying about where each bond is in its coupon cycle. When you actually buy a bond, you pay the dirty price (clean price + accrued interest), but the clean price is what you see on your screen and what traders negotiate. Think of clean price as the bond's 'core value' before adding the interest that's built up since the last payment.