Can anyone recommend the best USCoin Grading book I am looking for a book with Color photos (on glossy paper) of each grade for all coins Clear concise explainations US Coins only Any and all recommendation would be great Thanks for your time!
Something like PCGS Photograde 19th Edition, The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards of United States Coins 6th Edition, and/ or The Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection, 2nd Edition. Hope this was a help, Coinmaster1
From Whitman publishing: Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins http://www.whitmanbooks.com/Default.aspx?Page=81&ProductID=0794819931 and NGC Grading Guide For Modern U.S. Coins http://www.whitmanbooks.com/Default.aspx?Page=81&ProductID=0794819109 plus Grading Coins by Photographs http://www.whitmanbooks.com/Default.aspx?Page=81&ProductID=0794827012
Trying to grade coins based on pictures in a book is probably the worst thing you can do. You are far better off using written descriptions.
GD ... i need at least some photographs as a guide ... the words "some wear on the hair around the ear" just doesnt help me
But the pictures are going to help you even less. Many things are not even visible in pictures depending on the lighting, the angles and the camera. So trying to say that the coin you are trying grade matches the one in the picture is a waste of time because you don't know what the coin in picture really looks like. If you want to learn how to grade then use the written descriptions and go look at coins - thousands of coins.
The problem with a book is that you only get one photo. That lone photo can never be a good representative of how all coins of a specific grade should look. If you want a visual reference to help you understand the written description, use Heritage's auction archives. Search for the coin you want in the grade you want and look at 50-100 examples. This will give you a much better idea of what that grade should look like than a single photo in a book. In addition, the quality and size of the Heritage photo will be much better than any book photo.
The one that Coin World puts out would probably come the closest, but it's only for the top 100 coins - or was it 50 ? Either way - another issue is that all of the books are based on their own grading standards, and everybody's is different.
I know it doesn't help for someone impatient like me, but this really is the only good advice you can give. I tell people to go buy bags of nickels or cents and just grade. Staring at thousands of coins is the best way to learn to grade, spot fakes, spot AT, etc. etc. I am impatient too, and I hated this as well, but it really is the only way. Photos are also troublesome since every coin is unique, and just looking at one example of a VG will not really tell you how to grade all VG's. You need to grade and hold in your hand 500 Vg's, and know WHY each of them is VG. If you want to make sure you are in the ballpark a book can help show you AN example, but not all examples possible. You really have to be able to do it yourself. Make sense?
IMO, the best way to learn how to grade is to go look at NGC/PCGS slabs. As many as you can get your hands on. Shows. Auctions. Stores. There is no book that can teach you how to grade. You have to look at coins. If you can find a mentor who knows how to grade, that helps immensely. Books are little help, and there are no shortcuts -- YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT COINS!
p.s. if I had to buy one, it would be the ANA grading guide. Second would be the PCGS book. Photograde is a good book if you're a visual learner. I bought read them all. They gather dust.
Do any of the books you read tell about the points to look for wear on each type of coin? I agree that just a photo is next to useless, and I once saw a book that had every spot to check for wear/spot fakes circled with an explanation, but I foolishly forgot to bookmark it.
I started by using my Father 1965 red book to grade, I was quickly told how out of date I was for using that, I bought coin worlds pictorial grading book, making the grade, it had some good stuff, plus some issues that will quickly become apparent to those who use it. I liked that they had color photos that illustrated the various grades of coins, BUT they do not delve into strike issues, and sometimes the coins they used do not seem to match the descriptions they give. I also got the ana Official ANA Grading standards for United States Coins. When I would play the guess the grade threads here on coin talk, when I used the redbook, I was extemely low compared to the tpg grades, when I used coin worlds book I was usually at least two or three grades lower than the tpgs, when I Used the ana standards I was usually within one or two grades, usually a little lower, but not always. I try to buy on what appeals to me, if something is marked ms-65 and I see rub, dings and evidence of dipping, I will pass on the 65 price, sometimes I will buy something that I feel is overgraded but there is something that I like that makes the purchase worthwhile, usually it is a well worn piece that I am seeing for the first time, and the price is not something that I will cry about later if I find I paid 6 bucks for a coin that is worth only three.
