I have a question about coin grading. If I find an older coin and it is in very good shape, could it ever be graded above AU? It gets confusing because some photos that you see on the online price quides may show coins that aren’t perfect looking yet still get a MS62 or above grade. In other words, if I find older coins that appear to be in MS condition should I consider getting them graded even though they have technically been in circulation?
Sure. Get a new coin from the bank, and put it in a box for 100 years. It will be in mint state when you pull it out, right? Even if you actually "circulated it" getting it home? And let's say one other person touched that coin in the process of bringing it home - still pretty new isn't it? Two people? Still basically mint state, unless one of them dropped it. The question of getting it graded is orthogonal, though. Paying $20-30 to have a coin graded is usually more a matter of whether the final product is worth an incremental $20-30 over what it would have been worth without the grading fee. That's not related to whether it's in mint state, but to the demand and value of the coin.
Welcome to CT! Mint State simply refers to a coin's condition. Doesn't matter if it has been in circulation or not. Coins that do show a lot of contact marks but don't have any real wear will grade low mint state, such as MS62. Certification? I'm assuming you are asking about coins you are finding in circulation or roll searching. There are exceptions, but generally a coin needs to be worth $100-$150 before certification should be considered.
The generic answer I give is that third party graders use what is called market grading, not technical grading. Look it up: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/market-grading-vs-technical-grading.232525/ TLR version: MS60-62 are always AU coins, coin with circulation wear MS63 - half are impaired Mint state, half are nice AU coins with wear MS64+ are generally uncirculated coins with very little or no discernible luster breaks. Mint state does not mean taken directly from the mint and put into storage, you can find mint state coins, i.e. those with very little wear, in circulation. In terms of sending coins to be graded by TPGs, I am 100% against having any coin graded by them. Of course you are free to waste your money with it.
So, do folks on this site give opinions on whether or not one should have a coin graded or rather , if the coin has any value? Or is there another source for these types of opinions? My father passed away last year leaving a fairly large accumulation of coins. A local coin shop purchased anything that was graded or older-like the over 300 +Morgan Silver Dollars that he had collected and ducktaped together! But we are still left with a lot of wheat pennies, uncirculated state quarters, presidential Dollars, etc. and not sure what to do with them.
