Am I right in assuming that these are different? It has been difficult to find information specifically addressing my question online. To me "condition" tells me its state and level of wear (MS, AU, XF) while the "grade" tells me what it is out of 70. Is this correct?
Interesting question. We quibble about semantics a lot on CT. This reminds me of an old Marx Brothers sketch... Groucho: You call this a barn? This looks like a stable. Chico: Well, if you look at it, it's a barn. If you smell it, it's a stable. Groucho: Well, let's just look at it. I think the difference is qualitative vs quantitative. Long ago coins were described as AG, G, VG, etc. then someone applied a quantitative scale which came from grading large cents. Basically I agree with you.
Yes, condition and grade are essentially the same thing. I think "condition" might be more descriptive (brown, smooth planchet, rough surfaces, etc.), whereas "grade" is more numerical (30, 45, etc). However, I think you can use these terms pretty interchangeably.
If a coin is assigned a grade based condition, certain agreed upon conditions for each grade then the grade of a coin should give a person an idea (not exact) of the condition of the coin
Condition is a more general term that can encompass or address any characteristic displayed by a coin while grade addresses more uniform or specific considerations. In a nutshell this is how it was explained to me years ago and has served me well. Take as you will.
