There are some basic grading concepts that apply to American, as well as foreign coins. By understanding these basic grading concepts, a collector should be able to distinguish the physical conditions of any coin under evaluation, and establish a grade for the coin.

In conjunction with these grading concepts, the collector should become familiar with the key “wear points” of each type of coin to be evaluated. The identification of  these “wear points” becomes less difficult with experience and the revue of many of the subject coins.

Finally, the collector should understand the properties of the coin’s metal make-up. For instance, gold is very heavy, yet soft. The result is that experienced appraisers may discount numerous contact marks, bag marks, or dings on gold coins, and still assign a grade of Uncirculated to a gold coin. Whereas, a silver coin, with an equitable amount of contact marks, may receive a lesser grade.

The following categories of coins have been established, and are found in most catalogs and reference books:

ABOUT GOOD (AG-3) Very heavily worn with portions of lettering, date and legends  worn smoothly and barely discernable.

GOOD (G-4) Heavily worn, but design and legend still visible, although weak in areas.  Many details are gone.

VERY GOOD (VG-8) The entire design is weak, but a few details are visible. Well worn throughout, but coin rims still visible.

FINE (F-12) Moderate to considerable even wear over most features and lettering. Many of the details are worn through, but a good deal of the design is still visible.

VERY FINE (VF-20/29) Minor features, such as some of the finer hair detail, feathers, etc. will be moderately worn. Shows moderate wear on high points of design. All  major details are clear.

CHOICE VERY FINE (VF-30/39) Light even wear on the surface and highest parts of the design, but most major features and lettering are sharp.

EXTREMELY FINE (EF-40/49) Coin design is lightly worn in most places, but all the  features remain sharp and well defined.

ABOUT UNCIRCULATED (AU-50/54) Coin has evidence of light wear on many of the high points, but at least half of the mint luster is still present.

CHOICE ABOUT UNCIRCULATED (AU 55/59) Coin has very light wear on the

    highest points of the design, but no other defects. Most of the mint luster is still

    present.

UNCIRCULATED (MS-60) An uncirculated coin has no traces of wear or handling, but will have a few contact marks. Surface spotting is minimal and the coin will lack some  of the original luster.

BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED (MS-63) Coin will have no visible traces of wear or handling. A few contact marks my be present, and the coin must have full mint luster.

CHOICE UNCIRCULATED (MS-65) Above average brilliant uncirculated coin with all of original mint luster. A few contact marks may be present, but must be hardly visible.

What is LUSTRE (LUSTER)???

Excerpts from article, written by Charlie Hertan, in September 2004 NUMISMATIST.

Luster (lustre) is the intensity of light reflected from a coin’s surface…in a word, “gloss”. To be more specific, luster is simply the way light reflects from the microscopic flow lines of a coin. These lines are created during the striking process. Cleaning destroys the flow lines, making it impossible to restore the original luster.

The ANA grading guide states “Luster is perhaps the single most important grading factor for Mint State (MS) coins. When assigning a grade to a MS coin, the first thing to check is the fullness and originality of the luster. The ability to recognize natural versus impaired luster should be the most important goal for any grader. Unfortunately, learning about luster is the most difficult task the novice grader faces”.

The ANA guide goes on to describe the technique for recognizing original luster, the so called Cartwheel Effect: “Slowly rotate the coin at several angles under an incandescent light, checking for breaks in the Cartwheel Effect. This will appear as a band of light across the face of the coin, (moving) as the coin is rotated. With a little practice, this band of light can be made to spin around the coin like the spokes of a wheel”.

This procedure might sound a bit mystical, and it could take time to really see the effect. Cleaned or over dipped coins, stripped of their mint flow lines, have flat luster that won’t dance around the face of the coin like the original cartwheel luster.

To become proficient in the identification of the cartwheel luster, begin with an inexpensive series of large, modern coins, such as Ike dollars, Kennedy halves, or Anthony dollars. In most cases, these coins have not been cleaned, so the Cartwheel Effect will be very evident. Compare the quality of the luster. With patience, one will find “screamers”, or coins with gorgeous luster. Compare your findings with a trusted dealer, asking for feedback with identified cleaned or “fake” luster.