Grading currency

I've been collecting coins and paper money for a while now. I can't figure out how to grade currency by a picture. Any tips?

 

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Grading by a picture is very difficult because you cant see all the imperfections in the note
Best advice see the note in person before you buy!

 

I agree.

The only notes I've purchased sight unseen are slabbed notes or low value world currency (where I just want representative examples). Otherwise, I'd really have to see the note in hand before I bought it.

There are quite a few pressed and cleaned notes on the market and it pays to be cautious.

 

It's tough by pictures for sure.
If you figure it out let me know

 

I agree. There is no way I would purchase a high value note without seeing it in hand. Some people post on forums that they wonder what the grade is. That's why I'm curious.

 

I hope that people that post notes, and ask for grades, know they are getting a GUESS or ESTIMATE from their fellow member. Note in hand is the ONLY way to responsibly grade currency, and even that, without loads of experience, can be tricky.

 

If primarily U.S. Currency is your interest, here are some useful links and recommended books:

Books for small size FRNs:

"A Guide Book of United States Paper Money" 2nd Ed. (Official Red Book) by Arthur Friedberg

and

"Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money - 1928-Date" Ninth Edition by John Schwartz and Scott Lindquist.

Also consider Coin World's publication called Paper Money available in online subscriptions and on most book stores magazine rack in the hobby section.

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Set up a free account on Heritage Auctions account and use the search features to learn about notes in the 'Currency Auction Archives'.

Heritage has excellent images for looking at notes and judging or learning about grades some notes have been given by TPGs.

Heritage Auctions has a nifty Currency Grading Tutorial online that you can read.

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For ideas of what to look for in grading, the two major Paper Money TPGs have the following two scales developed that they utilize:

PCGS Currency.com -- Grading Scale

PMG Paper Money -- Grading Scale

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Check out some of these fun links I've posted on my profile page in the Visitor Messages section.


And for a whole lot of online Paper Money resources check out these CT threads full of links:

• Currency Websites

• Information Resources for Paper Money Collectors ​

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