What grading methods do you use?

[Ætheling]

I grade old school.

 

Fair, F, VF, EF, UNC, BU & Gem UNC. With 'a', 'n' or 'g' applied as a prefix where necessary.

 

 

Generally i don't use grades, Poor-VG much (i tend to group them as Fair).

[AuldFartte]

I like your system ... easier to understand than MS-67.75

[Dan769]

Agree, I never use numbers unless it's already on the slab.

[Scottishmoney]

I grade old school.

 

Fair, F, VF, EF, UNC, BU & Gem UNC. With 'a', 'n' or 'g' applied as a prefix where necessary.

Generally i don't use grades, Poor-VG much (i tend to group them as Fair).

 

Sounds just like the grading system I use, so are you going to compensate me for copyright infringement???

[28Plain]

I grade old school.

 

Fair, F, VF, EF, UNC, BU & Gem UNC. With 'a', 'n' or 'g' applied as a prefix where necessary.

Generally i don't use grades, Poor-VG much (i tend to group them as Fair).

G, VG, F, VF, EF, AU, Uncirc, BU, choice BU, Gem. All represent parts of the 4-70 scale. Using the small 'a' before the grade is a way of saying that the coin is at the top of the grade below. Eliminating 0-4 is what I usually do. aG would be a 3 or thereabouts. Getting into the MS numbers is something I uasually avoid unless I say something like," MS63ish", to show that I mean it's my opinion only and not a certified grade.

[GDJMSP]

What grading methods do you use?

 

 

I use them all

[ccg]

I use all standard words. I rarely have to use poor, fair, and about good (in reference to 1 and 2 on the # scale), but I do like their use because I've bought "fair" stuff from British dealers at VG prices that turned out to be AG coins...

[Ætheling]

I use all standard words. I rarely have to use poor, fair, and about good (in reference to 1 and 2 on the # scale), but I do like their use because I've bought "fair" stuff from British dealers at VG prices that turned out to be AG coins...

 

Standard British practice is to just use 'Fair' to denote anything below AF. Some hammered dealers do sell stuff as VG but it's not a grade that gets much use. Most people here try and stay VF or higher and thus demand for low grade coins is not sufficient to warrant a separation of the grades (but UK coins are cheaper than US coins and coin collecting is not as popular and thus coins are cheaper in VF here than they are in the States so there's no real reason why not to collect in the mid-higher grades). The Spinks book (the Redbook of UK coins) shows pictures of Fair, F, VF, EF and sometimes UNC.

 

They do explain what Good and VG are but never seem to price coins up in those grades, they just use Fair.

 

 

Infact until i got the internet i didn't actually know 'good' was a grade in it's own right.

[ageka]

I grade old school.

 

Fair, F, VF, EF, UNC, BU & Gem UNC. With 'a', 'n' or 'g' applied as a prefix where necessary.

Generally i don't use grades, Poor-VG much (i tend to group them as Fair).

 

 

well I never buy anything below XF so

I use XF XF+ AU UNC BU and FDC

FDC being Fleur de Coin

FDC seems to equate to MS65 MS66 or higher

[gxseries]

I'm perfectly fine if you sold me coins based upon such gradings, as you would have at least known some boundary of such grades. Of course, if you have some inexperienced coin collectors or even people who don't even collect coins, as in, "wow, this coin is so old and it is in a decent condition!" - that is one line I am not going to buy into.

 

I guess I am still trying to figure out MS grading system. Now it would be really nice if there happens to be some insane "catalogue" that shows all the grades from 1-70.

[ageka]

I'm perfectly fine if you sold me coins based upon such gradings, as you would have at least known some boundary of such grades. Of course, if you have some inexperienced coin collectors or even people who don't even collect coins, as in, "wow, this coin is so old and it is in a decent condition!" - that is one line I am not going to buy into.

 

I guess I am still trying to figure out MS grading system. Now it would be really nice if there happens to be some insane "catalogue" that shows all the grades from 1-70.

 

Grading goldcoins in the MS range toke me a year

Attached link is a start

 

http://www.coingrading.com/surfpres1.html

[BiggAndyy]

I prefer the numeric system over the alternate "descriptive" method. Just as some of you said that you prefer to lump g, vg, poor, as FAIR, it ends up not being very descriptive of the actual coin, especially with all that unnessary variability introduced by the arbitrary massing of disparagant conditions.

 

With a numeric system some of that is taken care of and people can more easily come to an agreement on a grade through the numeric system than the verbose.

[gpnyc]

I use the full Sheldon scale from FA2-MS70. That's what the market uses so that's what I use. There's a big difference in both appearance and value between say VF20 and VF35 or AU50 and AU58.

[Emperor Oli]

I grade old school.

 

Fair, F, VF, EF, UNC, BU & Gem UNC. With 'a', 'n' or 'g' applied as a prefix where necessary.

Generally i don't use grades, Poor-VG much (i tend to group them as Fair).

Exactly the same! I find trouble discerning between poor-good-very good, so I do as you do. I prefer the descriptive system, and I think it's done the British coin trade a lot of good to stay away from a numerical system, because there's no micro-grading with frankly ludicrous premiums between say, MS64 and 65.

[Mediccoin]

I use the full Sheldon scale from FA2-MS70.  That's what the market uses so that's what I use.  There's a big difference in both appearance and value between say VF20 and VF35 or AU50 and AU58.

 

That is what I use.

[28Plain]

Of course, if you have some inexperienced coin collectors or even people who don't even collect coins, as in, "wow, this coin is so old and it is in a decent condition!" - that is one line I am not going to buy into.

 

 

I hear that one so many times and it turns out to be something like a 1965 Roosevelt dime with a hole in it. There's one fellow who buys coins from me who will sometimes refer to a Barber dime in aG being in "perfick shape".

[28Plain]

I use the full Sheldon scale from FA2-MS70.  That's what the market uses so that's what I use.  There's a big difference in both appearance and value between say VF20 and VF35 or AU50 and AU58.

 

Exactly. If there's a better scale of grading, I haven't found it yet.

[okrecer03]

..I had a "fair" coin once that was just a little better than Fr2, but not quite an AG3, though it was slightly more on the side of AG3, but not quite an AG3+, but definitely didn't qualify as the Fr2, although I couldn't feel good calling it an AG3, I also coudn't demote it down to a Fr2...............................

 

So I use:

 

Fr 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5......2.6, 2.7...

 

G 4, 4.1, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13.......

 

all the way to:

 

MS 60, 60.001, 60.002, 60.003.....

 

.........this REALLY works for me, but it takes 6 weeks to get a grade on each coin I have!

[mitch91]

..I had a "fair" coin once that was just a little better than Fr2, but not quite an AG3, though it  was slightly more on the side of AG3, but not quite an AG3+, but definitely didn't qualify as the Fr2, although I couldn't feel good calling it an AG3, I also coudn't demote it down to a Fr2...............................

 

So I use:

 

Fr 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5......2.6, 2.7...

 

G 4, 4.1, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13.......

 

all the way to:

 

MS 60, 60.001, 60.002, 60.003.....

 

.........this REALLY works for me, but it takes 6 weeks to get a grade on each coin I have!

 

 

Couldn't you have said AG3- or FR2+

[Ætheling]

Don't like numbers don't like using them. I'm a words man... as soon as we get to nought point anything i run for cover.

[geordie582]

As I've already said on the Predecimal forum, Who grades the graders? and do they all have electron microscopes to discern minute differences? A case of too many people trying to complicate a simple process. Grade as YOU see it!

[Ætheling]

As I've already said on the Predecimal forum, Who grades the graders? and do they all have electron microscopes to discern minute differences? A case of too many people trying to complicate a simple process. Grade as YOU see it!

 

 

I'll take my hat off to that!

 

 

Best statement yet on this subject and one i could not have put better myself.

[28Plain]

'Course there are some very damaged coins which need new descriptors such as TU (tore up) PNR (Purt' Nigh Rurned) and for extreme damage cases AFU for which no explanation is necessary.

[Ætheling]

You could just put, VF - Destroyed. (i.e polished).

[Ætheling]

Also i don't think eye appeal should be taken into account for grading. Eye appeal is far too subjective (the dealer should be left to describe that as additional to the grade).

 

VF - attractive tone

EF - Unsightly streaks

 

 

(Of which i've seen both used).

 

 

Another reason why not to grade on eye appeal is that one man's treasure is another man's idea of a coin with a nasty fake looking rainbow tone much akin to spilt oil on the road that needs a good dip.