Is there a tutorial on the internet where one can learn to grade coins themselves? I.e. pictures of coins which are VG 8 as oppsed to F12. I have the red book and have read the descriptions of the grades but a picture is worth a thousand words. Any suggestions?
Don,t know about internet, but "Photograde" by James Ruddy gives pictures of all U.S. coins from AG-AU. Found mine at amazon. Had coin dealers tell me they use "ANA Grading Guide".Both under $20 ,well worth it
You'll need to recognize damage. You can learn a lot by experimenting on pocket change. http://www.coingalaxy.com/coininfo/recognize.html If you dig deep into thie wesite below, you'll pick up a lot of valuable info on grading. http://www.coingrading.com/ There are several other issue specific websites. Be sure to check out the section which includes links to specific coin related topics.
I also like Photograde a lot, but it won't teach you much about grading mint state coins. I also agree that a good way to learn to recognize cleaned and damaged coins is to clean and damage a few and compare the results to mint state coins.
I suggest buying a few books---read everything you can on grading and I think you will do fine! Photograde ANA Grading Guide PCGS Grading Guide Then read this free book online-- http://www.coingrading.com/ The thing that will help the most is hands on grading---go to Heritage, Teletrade, DLRC, and such and look at photos and try your hand at grading them! Speedy
Got to agree with that. I have cleaned many, many coins for experimentation purposes and now at coin shows I've noticed how cleaned ones stand out. Never cleaned one that was worth anything though. But sure does give a person an idea of what to look for.
Coin Values magazine features a different coin each month and has a very detailed illustration of all grades from G to MS65. They also show you with color diagrams the typical wear spots for each type of coin. That feature is a major benefit of a subscription. If you have a particular coin in mind, it would be worth looking for the back issue for that coin.
Of all the grading guides out there, the ANA Grading Standards book is the best. It is the basis upon which the industry assigns grades to coins. Photograde is useless IMO because the pictures are poor and it says nothing about Uncirculated pieces. PCGS' guide is a thin rework of the ANA book. JMHO, from a 25 year dealer. Have fun.
As has already been stated books are the way to go. But if you wish to get started using the internet, you can do that to. You can find a good bit of info right here on Coin Talk if you just look - Coin Grading Now while you're at it, I would also suggest making use of other information on and about coins that you can find here on Coin Talk by checking out the Numismatic Resources section
I'm a big fan of the ANA guide and nothing beats experience. On the other hand you could just buy some holders, print your own labels then put ridiculous grades on them and sell at a huge profit! JUST KIDDING! I suggest the ANA guide as stated.
i picked up the ANA guide today at Baltimore - paid $10.50. a quick skim thru showed me a few things i didn't already know - worth the money spent right there. so much to learn in this hobby, but once you are comfortable grading, you'll have a better feeling for judging coins you've never seen before - i've correctly graded many tough world coins and it feels good to get it right. won't tell you how many times i've been wrong -steve
