Introduction to Coin Grading
Coins are
normally made for public circulation to enable commerce
to take place. In general they are made in large
quantities and are not usually rare (there are, of
course, many exceptions).
Collectors
generally want to acquire examples of a coin in as nice
condition as they can.
As soon as
a coin is minted it begins to suffer damage and wear.
When it enters circulation in begins to deteriorate in
three significant ways:
Wear
- Normal use causes the surface of a coin to be smoothed
and for the detail to be gradually lost.
Damage
- Coins often suffer damage beyond normal wear, from
being used for other purposes than intended, for example
holes and edge damage from being made into jewellery.
Particularly of importance for good quality collectors
coins are edge knocks which heavy coins get from being
dropped.
Corrosion
- Most coin metals begin to react with the environment as
soon as they are minted. This reaction initially results
in toning of the coin's original colour but subsequent
corrosion will result in pitting of the surface and loss
of metal from the coin.
Coins are
normally graded initially based on the amount of wear.
This grade should then be modified or qualified to
indicate any damage or corrosion.
Grading
Scales
Grading
coins is not a precise science, however over the years a
method and associated terminology has evolved to describe
coin grades.
These pages
use the 'European Grading' Scale - It is important to
distinguish between this scale and the 'American' or
'Sheldon' Scale. The European Grading scale will usually
grade a mid range coin about a grade lower than the
American scale. The principle differences occur in the
Good Very Fine to Extremely Fine range. Because the
American scale is very liberal with these grades they
have a significant gap between Extremely Fine and
Uncirculated which is filled with an additional grade:
Almost Uncirculated.
As well as
the distinct grades a series of interval grades have been
developed to modify the higher grades, it is important to
distinguish between terms which qualify a grade and terms
which are used to show the grader's opinion of a coin for
its grade.
For example
'Good Very Fine' is a coin which is better than
'Very Fine' and is a grade in its own right in The
European scale. Whereas 'Nice Very Fine' means
the coin is in 'Very Fine' condition but is particularly
nice for this grade (perhaps because of attractive toning
or being particularly free of the normal minor scratches
a coin in this grade would have). Sometimes 'Nice Very
Fine' means that the grader would have liked to grade the
coin 'Good Very Fine' but the level of wear indicated it
is only 'Very Fine'.
Some terms
are defined below the table:
| European_Grade |
American_Grade |
Description |
FDC
Fleur de Coin |
MS-70 |
Flawless |
Gem
BUnc
Gem Brilliant Uncirculated |
MS-67 |
Uncirculated - no wear at all - minimal
scratches and 'bag marks' from minting - and
attractively lightly toned or original colour |
Choice BUnc
Choice Brilliant Uncirculated |
MS-65 |
Uncirculated - no wear at all - light 'bag
marks' and attractive colour or original colour |
BUnc
Brilliant Uncirculated |
MS-63 |
Uncirculated - no wear at all - moderate
'average' bag marks not too heavily toned but may
be lightly toned or original colour |
Unc
Uncirculated |
MS-60 |
Uncirculated - no wear at all - but may be
heavily 'bag marked' and/or toned |
| |
GEF
Good Extremely Fine |
AU-55 |
Very light wear on higher points - attractive
colour (original or toned) - usually requires a
glass to actually see the wear - may just be a
loss of mint bloom on some surfaces. |
EF
Extremely Fine |
AU-50 |
Light wear on highest points - mint bloom
still largely present. |
AEF
About Extremely Fine |
XF-45 |
Areas of wear on highest points but no fine
details is lost. Fields may show contact pattern
or central toning on copper or CuNi. |
GVF
Good Very Fine |
XF-40 |
Wear is beginning to cause fine detail to be
lost - usually only traces of lustre, if any.
Fields are generally dulled. |
VF
Very Fine |
VF-30 |
Wear is clear and finer detail is generally
lost. The coins is still attractive and there is
lots of 'depth' to the designs. |
AVF
About Very Fine |
VF-20 |
Wear is clear and is beginning to affect the
appearance of the designs - areas of wear are
beginning to extend from the higher points. |
GF
Good Fine |
F-16 |
Wear is extending over much of the design but
the main detail is still visible and there is
still fine detail in protected areas. |
F
Fine |
F-12 |
Wear generally covers all the main design
features with only main details still clear - the
main designs and legends are still clearly
standing out from the fields. |
AF
About Fine |
AF-10 |
Wear generally covers all the main design
features with not all main details still clear -
the main designs and legends are still clear and
generally standing out from the fields. |
VG
Very Good |
VG-8 |
Designs are becoming silhouettes - a few
large details may still be visible. No actual
loss of design outline. |
G
Good |
G-6 |
Design may be worn into fields at a few
points but outline is generally clear - usually
no details left. |
Fair
Fair |
G-4 |
Usually only silhouettes with soft outlines -
however all design and legend is still visible. |
Poor
Poor |
AG-3 |
Much of design and legend is merged into
fields - but enough remains to identify - for
example, the date is identifiable. |
| |
F-2 |
Identity of coin can only be guessed from the
remaining design - may not be possible to fully
clarify its date if the type was produced on more
than one date - but half or more design outlines
are visible |
| |
P-1 |
Only traces of design outlines - identity may
be type but not date. |
Terms :
Mint Bloom : When a coin is minted
the surface generally has a sheen or bloom which shows as
softly lustrous in light - after circulating this lustre
gradually dulls. A polished coin usually has a hard or
harsh shine to the surfaces so polishing is easily
distinguishable from original lustre or mint bloom. After
light circulation the bloom is often lost from the higher
surfaces but remains on areas of the coin's surface which
are protected such as in the crevices of the design or in
the field around the legends. Further circulation finally
removes all traces of this lustre. On Irish modern coins
the gaps between the harp strings can often remain
lustrous after the rest of the surface is dulled.
Design : I have used this term to
mean the main objects and legends on the coin. In the
case of an Irish modern coins the term design refers to
the harp and the reverse animal as well as the legends.
Details : I have used this term to
mean the smaller components within the objects on the
coins surface. In terms of an Irish modern coins this
means features such as an animal's eye or feathers or on
the obverse harp it means the pattern on the sound box or
the bow. Some details are worn very early in the life of
a coin (perhaps by GVF grade) while some survive until
the main design is little more than a silhouette.
Note : The harp strings on an modern
Irish coin are design not detail. They are usually
visible along with the rest of the harp silhouette until
a coin is worn beyond Fair.
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