Grading Coins For Your Coin Collection

When you are getting into coin collecting you want the absolute best coins you can possibly get

. The condition of the coin is the most important factor in its value. You want to find a mint coin that is rare. That's where the joy of coin collecting is found.

But how are the coins rated? How can you know if the coin in your coin holder is worth millions of dollars or just a few pennies? Coin rating is a generally new practice but there are several ways to find out what sort of coin you have. In the mid-twentieth century a system was adopted in North America by the American Numismatic Association for grading coins on a numeric scale. This was called the Sheldon Scale.

The highest coin rating you can get on this scale is a seventy (70) which means that either the coin is in a mint state (MS) or uncirculated (UNC). This is the goal for most coin collectors. The remainder of the scale is as follows: 60 - 70: mint state or uncirculated; 50, 53, 55, and 58: almost uncirculated; 40 and 45: very fine; 12 and 15 fine; 8 and 10: very good; 4 and 6: very good; 3: about good; 2: fair; 1: poor.

While this is the method in North America there are other alternate measurements of a coin's condition. Thankfully even though other countries do not use the Sheldon or numeric system, they are easy enough to understand and translate into the Sheldon system.

There are six categories on which the coin is judged. They are eye appeal, dents on the rim, scratches or blemishes, luster, toning, and level of details retained on the coin through the years. Those coins that are in fantastic shape are marked highly on this rubric and obtain a high score. Any kind of physical damage to the coin like a dent, scratch or hole can significantly lower the score of any coin. This also goes for gouges and etchings and cleaning. These methods are often used to try and pass the coin off as a mint or higher grade coin than it really is.

Coin grading has significantly diminished the amount of counterfeits and forgeries on the coin collecting market. It has also helped to determine the value of any coin.

The two most prominent grading companies in the United States are Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and the Professional Coin Grading Service.

by: Mark Etinger

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