How to Grade Collectible Coins
When you start to collect coins, you need to have a way to catalog their value to know what you have. You’ll also need to have something in the language that other collectors speak. The answer to this dilemma is to grade your coins.
The system of grading was developed to assess the condition of a coin. In the beginning, there were just a few grades for coins, but in the 1940s, Dr. William Sheldon entered the scene and revolutionized the grading system.
Basically, there are 70 different types of grades that can be assigned to any coin. There are basically five characteristics that you need to take into account when you’re grading your coin. By looking at the coins strike, surface preservation, coloration, luster, and eye appeal, you will be able to determine the best grade for your coin.
The coins strike is the design that has been pressed onto either side of the coin. When grading your coin you are going to want to look at how hard the coin has been pressed. Do you have a strong image on the coin? If so then your coin has a strong strike. Yes, the coins strike does enter into the grading process, but it is not the most major characteristic that you look at when grading your coin.
Each coin will have several marks on it, and the placement of those can factor into your coins grade. If a coin has a deep mark on reverse side of the coin it would not be as devalued as much if the same coin had that mark on the other side of the coin. Additionally, coins that have a lot of open space for marks versus those with very busy designs are often not penalized quite as harshly.
There are a lot of factors that can impact a coin's surface, like the metal it’s made of or the mint that it was made in. That being taken into consideration you have to take some time to classify the luster of each of your coins. Coins can have many different lusters, ranging from a satiny appearance to a proof-like appearance. Determining a coins luster will also help you see if a coin was ever in circulation.
Color is probably the most difficult detail to asses. From person to person, their assessment of what color the coin is can be quite different. Due to that, while color does play a part in the grading process, it is most certainly not the most important aspect of the coin.
Lastly, while grading your coin you need to evaluate your coins “eye appeal.” This means exactly what it sounds like, that your coin looks good. Though this may seem like everyone would have a different opinion through coin collectors it seems that most of the time they agree on a coin having either good or bad eye appeal.
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