Like any book it's only a tool . But since all coins look different even for the same grade photos aren't always the best way to grade . The best way to learn to grade is to look at as many coins you can and to use the grading books text . And though this is a good book I think the ANAs 7th Edition is the best there is . Practice using your own coins and looking at your slabbed coins to see why they were graded that way . On series I'm not that familiar with I use the pics to get me close and then the descriptions to get to the grade .
Grading Coins by Photographs is a speciality book. The author, Q. David Bowers, is called "the dean of U.S. Numismatics" for a reason. We all see "photographs" (digital images) of coins far more often than we see coins, so that is why he wrote the book: to help people know what they are looking at. This book is not meant to be "Photograde." The Photograde books (several editions) were intended to show exactly what coins look like in their grades. Whether that ever was achieved remains arguable, though we all have the book, of course. I agree that the ANA Standards are the universal best for most cases. However, beyond that, we know that certain series (the US 20-cent, and of course Early American Copper) have their own standards. EAC has an entire vocabulary of its own. I agree that probably the best way to learn is to see coins graded by experts. There is nothing wrong with going to a coin store to look at coins, both in 2x2 graded by the dealer and slabbed by other experts. The same thing applies at shows; and coin shows are an excellent opportunity to sit and learn from a room of knowledgeable people. Also, at the Michigan State Numismatic Society, they brought in expert graders for for special grading classes. The classes ran before the convention. I forget what the price was. But is another way to learn: see if your state or local club can arrange something like that. In my little hometown club (Howell, Michigan) we had a dealer who was a nationally known collector of EAC and Bob Matthews would come in for a meeting and show us how to grade Large Cents and Half Cents.
Good to see you back posting Mike, you are after all one of the "original" (that can be read as earliest) members of Coin Talk. But we need to get you back to using your original user name. Please send a PM to Peter and he can take care of that for you
I don't have any graded stabbed coins to look at can't afford to have it done don't think I have anything nice enough to get graded and I've never heard of any clubs or coin shows around Here
My bro wanted to get good, really good, at grading coins. Lincoln cents, at first. So, he asked to work in a coin shop that gets a lot of traffic and inventory. The proprietor had him study some books, grade coins alongside him, and then let him grade by himself (and checked his grading). He tells me the only way to get good at grading coins is by seeing and grading, WITH YOUR OWN EYES, lots and lots of coins.
Bruiser, I see from your profile that you are a Show Me kind of guy. I have an old friend who lives so deep into the country that he walks his own land naked (in good weather). Unless you are that far into the woods, if you go to the ANA website www.money.org and look under Membership on the left, you will find dropdowns and menus for locating clubs and dealers near you. Other websites list area coin shows. Learning to grade is both easy enough and a lifelong pursuit, just like anything else. The Bowers book is OK for starters.
Bruiser, what honestly helped me learn to grade most... submitting coins to PCGS. Now I'm pretty good at knowing how they grade seated liberty and capped bust coins, as well as flying eagle cents. The only time I found that I undergraded (as compared to graders at PCGS) was with Indian Cents. Otherwise I was consistently overgrading by a step.
Bruiser, I assume that the excerpt that you posted in the Mercury Dime thread was from this book. What you posted was a little light in information IMO. I think that a good way to learn how to grade is to get a copy of the PCGS OFFICIAL GUIDE TO COIN GRADING AND COUNTERFEIT DETECTION. When you are trying to grade a particular coin, consult that book for the grading descriptions and then use Heritage Auction Archives to look at PCGS examples of the date/mm of the series that you are looking at. The Heritage Photos are excellent, large, and should basically provide you with an online grading set. After looking at several hundred Mercury Dimes in F-VF-XF in PCGS holders on the Heritage archives, you should be able to develop a basic understanding of grading for that series. Then repeat that process over and over again for every series that interests you. It might take years, but I promise it will help you. And the best thing is that Heritage Auction Archives are free! Paul
